


Sana and Dahyun's Guide To The Infinite Year

by superfrito



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2020-05-14 18:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 102,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19278877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superfrito/pseuds/superfrito
Summary: Alpha nerd and Student Council President Dahyun has already figured her senior year out — do well in academics, spend time with her friends, and do things that she has never done before. But things won't exactly go as planned when she wakes up half naked next to the school's star quarterback Sana.Seeing this as an opportunity to get revenge on her ex, Sana drags Dahyun into her world, surprising everyone when she claimed they are dating to stop the rumors. Now, Dahyun has to figure out the rest of her year with Sana suddenly crashing into her life.





	1. Prologue: Catharsis

**Prologue**

* * *

**Catharsis**

  
  


It was the summer right before her last year in highschool when Dahyun came home from a leadership summit. Her aunt picked her up from school that day since her dad needed to attend to much important things.

 

Dahyun understood this. Just like how she understood it when he wasn’t there during her junior high school recognition day. Just like how she understood it when she got her license, or when she won a medal for a Math quiz bee. He is absent in some points of her junior life because he needs to. Not because he’s trapped in some work or that he didn’t care about her. She understood that.

 

So when she came back home after the leadership summit, her first reaction was to look for him. She drops her bags in the living room and was greeted by a warm hug when she went into the kitchen.

 

It smells like dinner, much to Dahyun’s delight, because it only meant that her dad is cooking.

 

“How’s camp?” he ruffles Dahyun’s hair like she’s seven, and Dahyun grins just like she is. Her dad responds in kind, making his crow’s feet much more apparent more than ever. It only made Dahyun notice that he aged a lot in such a short span of time.

 

They break off the hug and Dahyun takes a seat on the kitchen counter.

 

“It’s actually pretty fun since Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung are with me. Got to know the rest of the school team leaders, too.” she watched her dad skillfully slice some vegetables. The kitchen echoed with a takatakatak, and when Dahyun found a window of silence, she continues. “It was fun but super tiring. Thank god it’s still weeks before school.”

 

“Are you sure you’re not over-extending yourself with the presidency?” her dad frowned as he washed his hands.

 

“I’m fine, appa. I ran a successful vice-presidency last year.” Dahyun shrugs.

 

“I do not doubt your abilities, Dahyun. All I’m saying is, I don’t want you spending all your time being a perfect student.”

 

“Appa, we are Asians.” Dahyun leans closer over the counter and whispered “What the hell are you talking about?”

 

“Dahyun.” her dad just glanced over his shoulder and raised his brow.

 

“I was kidding.” Dahyun leans back and they both laugh.

 

“But seriously, this is your last year and I..” he suddenly stops and sighs as he looks for the right words, “I.. you.. I just don’t want you to miss out, okay?”

 

The way her dad fished around for words was so blatantly obvious. They had this kind of conversation way often than she could count and Dahyun already knew where this conversation is headed.

 

“Appa, I promise you. It’s not about _that._ I’m fine with school. Besides, it’s fun being involved in extra-currics, and for what it's worth, the presidency gives that extra glam on my college application.” Dahyun explains.

 

Her dad did not argue back. He just nodded quietly, retreating entirely from that point of the conversation, but Dahyun knew it bothered him still. It’s not her dad’s fault. It’s more of her and her perpetual habit of dodging this part of their conversation. In fact, she became so good at it that she could easily follow up on the silence.

 

But it was different this time. Because even before she could even tell him about how Jeongyeon got lost with another student during camp, her dad suddenly speaks up.

 

“I need to talk to you about something. But let’s have dinner first.” he takes a sip from the ladle and glanced over at Dahyun. “Go get changed.”

 

Later that night, she found herself sitting on her parents’ bed. It felt larger than how she remembered it but what struck her most is how her dad looked smaller in the ocean sized expanse of covers. Maybe it’s how things go when he suddenly turned into a sole occupant of a room that’s made for two.

 

The place felt unfamiliar somehow. Dahyun could blame a million other things but she knew she had been avoiding this place far longer than she could allow herself to remember. Her eyes wandered for a bit, not really knowing what she’s looking for, until her dad sat beside her.

 

There were no words. Only documents inside an envelope that Dahyun reluctantly opened. Her eyes moved about, scanning the words and the other details that she deemed important.

 

“It’s really happening, huh?” Dahyun could only say as she took a deep breath.

 

Her dad had this small smile on his face, quietly telling Dahyun that everything is going to be alright. This little gestures of assurances has always been more than enough for Kim Dahyun, especially getting it from someone who’s stronger than he had always let on.

 

“We’ll sort it out, okay?” Her dad finally breaks the suffocating silence between them. Then, it was Dahyun’s turn to let herself be wrapped into a warm embrace. “This is what she would’ve wanted for the both of us.”

 

Dahyun just nods and buries her face deeper into her dad’s shoulder. Then she began her apology in sharp sniffs and shaky words.

 

“I’m sorry, appa. I miss her so much.”

 

“Me too, kiddo.” Her dad let out a watery sigh, putting on soothing taps on her daughter’s back. “Me too.”

  


///

  


She went into her room that night with a swarm of thoughts running in her head. It almost made her dizzy especially now that she has to come up with ways on how she could compromise the new reality that she’s in. The voice of her parents echo in her head, replaying over and over until those were the only voices she could hear.

 

She drops down on her bed and buries her face into her pillow. She hopes that this could somehow dull all the sounds because shit, everything is too much to take in. If she could only jot all of these in a to-do list, and accomplish each one just like she has always did ever since improving at school then —.

 

A list. If she’s learned something in her years of student service, it’s creating a list.

 

A list of everything she needs to do before the year ends.

 

She flips on her side and reaches for a leather bound notebook on her bedside table. She was saving it for special notes for the coming school year, but she thinks this is as important.

 

Dahyun scribbles down to form some sort of a checklist, and for someone of her nerdy caliber, there are things she should consider:

 

  1. She has been in the student government ever since junior high school.
  2. It had been an awfully long time since she received a B. Not that she had one last year.
  3. She thought Billy Rosenthal’s bar mitzvah is a high school party.
  4. She has a self imposed curfew.
  5. Being social is not her greatest skill.



 

Now, with all these things taken into account, it should not come as a surprise when she easily filled out her list. And she hasn’t even got to the more “intense” tasks.

 

“I think I have to be more realistic.” Dahyun mumbles when her list resembled more of a month’s worth of grocery than simple goals to achieve in a year.

 

She tears off the page and starts from the beginning. The beginning of her guide to the infinite year.

  


*********


	2. The Unorthodox Method of Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If party is the question, the answer is "Yes!" 
> 
> But how will Dahyun, the student council president, fare against the advances of Sana, the school's star quarterback?

 

**The Unorthodox Method of Falling**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

  


It was a Saturday.

 

A Saturday before the first week of school to be more exact. People may find it weird to see actual students in school during this day but if you’re part of Kim Dahyun’s regime, then you are the unfortunate exception to that playground rule.

 

And when one mentions about Dahyun’s regime, it specifically meant three organizations: The Student Council, The Atteridge Gazette (aka the school newspaper), and the AV Club. You see, Dahyun had a very contemporary vision of a student government. In consolidating the position of these three organizations, she effectively controls the state media, documentation resources, and the executive branch. She even placed two of her friends to head these branches making her practically a dictator, but no one really cares because who gives a flying fuck about running the lousy organization of the alpha nerds?

 

Apparently, Dahyun does, and so with her clique of scholastic servants, they find themselves huddled in a system of connected rooms which they call The DMZ or The Detention Mediation Zone. It’s a prime real estate of four connected rooms, one for each organization and a common room where the detention candidates are held up (Because nothing is more punishing than being surrounded by nerds).

 

At the head of the big table, Dahyun looked over her team, standing while everyone was seated. She has always preferred her scrums this way since it makes her see everyone easily. Vintage flower printed yellow sundress under a red cardigan, Dahyun has always looked presentable even on weekends. She is, afterall, the supreme elected official.

 

“Monday is almost here, guys. You know what that means. Minjoo, let’s get over the Pep Muster program again.” Dahyun pinches the bridge of her nose, making the vice president a bit nervous.

 

_(Kim Dahyun, Senior, Council President, Apex Predator Nerd, Never Dated)_

 

“We start the program by 3:30 PM with an address from Principal Weatherbee, followed by the introduction of the school teams, then an intermission from the Atteridge Pep Squad to learn this year’s school cheer, then we go to the club sign ups. Each club is given a booth then the student council will be serving snacks.” Minjoo recited like she was being graded.

 

_(Kim Minjoo, Junior, Council Executive Vice President, Most Probably the Next President)_

 

“Hey, hey, Chae.” Jeongyeon spins her swivel chair and taps Chaeyoung’s shoulder with a pen. “What has two legs, dirty blonde hair, and speaks just like Minjoo?”

 

_(Yoo Jeongyeon, Senior, Atteridge Gazette EIC, Vocalist for the Recess Absentees, and Dahyun’s bestfriend — sometimes)_

 

Dahyun drops her shoulders and rolls her eyes in exasperation.

 

“I don’t know, does the current president count as an answer?” Chaeyoung answers without even glancing away from her laptop.

 

_(Son Chaeyoung, AV Club President, Dahyun’s bestfriend — if she’s not playing video games)_

 

“Is there something wrong with the way I speak? Oh! Am I speaking presidentially?” Minjoo perks up.

 

“I wouldn’t be too happy if I were you, Minjoo. Do you really wanna be that person who calls a meeting on a Saturday?” Jeongyeon shrugs. Dahyun could only watch the  girl wearing a tight vintage shirt lean closer to Minjoo as if whispering something. “It’s almost as if she wanted all of us to have no life.”

 

“I have a life, Jeongyeon!” the president protested, and everybody hid behind quiet giggles, even Minjoo. “Hey! I am as cool as anybody in this room!”

 

Then, they all avoided any form of eye contact to Dahyun.

 

“Prove it. Jennie has a party tonight.” Jeongyeon spins on her chair.

 

“Not gonna go to somewhere I’m not invited to.”

 

“No, she texted Jeongyeon.” Hyewon, the silent one on most cases, chose the most disadvantageous time to speak. At least for Dahyun. “She said we should all go. You especially.” she points her small yogurt spoon at the president.   

 

_(Kang Hyewon, Junior, Council Vice President for Public Relations and External Affairs, Always neat, always eating. Would’ve been one of the popular kids if she doesn’t space out too much)_

 

“She just said,” Jeongyeon stands up and reads from her phone (which means in a tune of heavily neutral monotone). “You guys should definitely come. Tell Dahyun to come too. I need blessing from the president to make this year-starter party happen.”  

 

“Not going if Chae ain’t —” Dahyun speaks but was interrupted.

 

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung winces and inhales sharply. “I kinda said yes to Jeongyeon about 30 minutes ago.”

 

“Chae! Are you sure about this?”

 

“She said the entire DMZ is going! I mean, all of us are going, right?” Chaeyoung reasoned out which prompted everyone inside the room to look at each other and nod. “Jeongyeon thought it’d be fun. Hyewon and Minjoo thinks it’s a good way to start the year.”

 

“And you?” Dahyun raised a brow.

 

“Peer fucking pressure!”

 

“I need you to be stronger, Chae!” Dahyun throws her hands up in the air.

 

“I tried to be! But it’s our last year! When was the last time you attended a highschool party? Because I sure haven’t been to!” Chaeyoung leans back against her chair, folding her arms loosely under her chest. Jeongyeon just looked at Dahyun’s eyes because she knows full well what she’s gonna say next. There was a smug smirk that never sat well with Dahyun.

 

Dahyun begins, “I went to Billy —”

 

“Billy Rosenthal’s party is a fucking bar mitzvah and you were fourteen!” Jeongyeon groans and everyone just looked down to the floor when the disappointment that’s Kim Dahyun finally revealed herself.

 

“Fine!” Dahyun surrenders. “I’ll go to Jennie’s party later!”  

 

“No take-backsies!” Jeongyeon laughs in triumph. Chaeyoung pumps her fist in the air. Minjoo sighs in relief. And Hyewon just shakes her head while she stared at everyone blankly.

 

“Now, get some flyers and post them around campus.” Dahyun goes back to being the president. “And Minjoo, don’t forget to message the teams later. Tell them all school teams should wear their lettermans on Monday. Thanks everyone! Now, get to work!”

 

The meeting disintegrates into its individual components, but before Jeongyeon could walk a step away from Dahyun, she felt her forearms being yanked.

 

“Stick with Chaeyoung, please. Athletes are out and about this weekend.” Dahyun said, making sure that only Jeongyeon heard her.

 

“Gotcha, cap.” Jeongyeon winked then joined the others.

  


///

  


Meanwhile, on the other side of the school, the football team was just finishing their weekend training. The season’s coming up soon and the team is hard pressed to win the elusive state championship this year.

 

They’re holding on to high hopes since their roster is pretty promising. Pretty. And promising.

 

On one of the bleachers, a magnificent specimen stood and watched the players shuffle to her direction. Yoga pants and a compression shirt so snug, it was hugging her toned figure quite nicely, almost like a second skin. Her raven black hair is tied into a neat ponytail, a stark contrast to the messed up ladies who just got off the field.

 

“Great runs today, guys!” Sana highfives or fistbumps every player that passes her.

 

_(Minatozaki Sana, Senior, Quarterback and Captain, Textbook Definition of Campus Heartthrob)_

 

“Hey, Yujin.” she calls out to the shorter girl who was just about to walk past her. The girl tilts her head up, just enough for Sana to see her eyes below her cap visor, then she quickly obeys when the captain signalled her to come closer. “Starting the official season training, we’ll be doing drills for option passes and deep runs, so I’m gonna ask you to come in earlier than the rest. Is that okay?”

 

The younger girl nodded quickly without hesitation, and not even a hint of complaining or questioning.

 

_(Ahn Yujin, Junior, Quarterback, Doesn’t hang out as much and keeps to herself. Love affair with baseball caps)_

 

“Your passes are good. We just need to focus more on making you play both ways, but great job today.” Sana lightly punches Yujin’s shoulder.

 

“Thanks, cap!” Yujin beams before walking away. “See you Monday.”

 

“Hey, hey hey!” a blonde calls out before Yujin could take another step. “What do you mean by ‘See you Monday’? Jennie’s having a party tonight. You’re not going?” Momo asks in disbelief.

 

_(Hirai Momo, Senior, Running Back, Part Time Footballer, Full Time Moron)_

 

From behind the blonde, Sana was shaking her head and swiping her fingers over her throat.

 

“No, I’m going.” Yujin shrugs and points at Sana. “Not sure, about the captain, though?”

 

“Who, Sana?” Momo chuckles confidently. “Oh, our captain’s going to — Sana! Come back here!” the blonde quickly glad ances at Yujin and mouths a ‘See you later!’ before running after the captain. “Don’t you run away from me!”

 

“I’m not going, Momo.” Sana just waved her hand and continued walking.

 

“We talked about this! Are you really gonna mope around?”

 

“I’m not moping. I’m heading to the general direction of my car.” Sana points to the other side of the school, where none of her teammates are parked.

 

“I don’t give a damn shit on where general direction you’re going! You can walk towards hell for all I care.” Momo tried to get ahead of Sana to stop her from walking. “You’re going to this party and take it like a champ!”

 

Sana finally stops and just sighs while the blonde stood defiantly in front of the captain, forcing the both of them into a staring contest stalemate.

 

“Okay, fine. I didn’t mean for you to go to hell. That’s for your ex.” Momo surrenders. Sana was quiet for a quick moment, then she skillfully cuts behind Momo. “Sana! You told us you got over her!”

 

“I did. But that doesn’t mean that I need to be where she is.” Sana pulls the strap of her gym bag up her shoulder.

 

“Then what’s with the attitude?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” the captain chuckles and continued to walk on. Momo briskly walks just to catch up, trying her best to intercept the Sana once more.

 

“Oh, don’t play coy! She’s still affecting you!” Momo accuses which puts Sana to an abrupt stop. The words left a taste so bitter in Sana’s mouth that it didn’t take long for Momo to realize Sana’s mood changed entirely. “Dude, I’m just saying.” her voice suddenly mellows down into a mumble.

 

“Figure me this. I came from a place full of sickness, got sick, then got well. Do I go back to the place full of sickness?” Sana raised her brow to coerce an answer. The analogy made sense, much to Momo’s dismay, and at this rate, she’s quickly running out of reasons to convince Sana to come.

 

“Your team is going to hang out with the plague herself, Sana! Not to mention your best friends.” Momo sighs. “Jihyo and I will be going. The rest of the team, too. It’s our last year so can we at least enjoy the ride? The season’s coming in soon and we might not get nights like this.”

 

Sana closes her eyes as she takes in Momo’s words. She has a point but Sana will not admit that outright, so she remained quiet. Another beat passes before Momo tried to reason again.

 

“I’m sorry my words came out wrong. Jihyo and I just want our friend back. We haven’t seen you since that damn leadership summit and we felt a bit left out. Don’t clam up on us, Sana.”

 

“Fine.” Sana shakes her head, a small smile curving up from her lips.

 

‘Yes!” Momo clasps her hands together and presses them against her forehead.

 

“Dress codes?”

 

“You do you, Sana. But in the name of everything that you hold dear, dress up well.” Momo places her hands over her heart then she began to walk backwards. “I’ll see you later, cap!”

 

Sana just chuckles and waves her hand, trying her best to ignore the fact that she’s been convinced by Momo to do something stupid.

  


///

  


Walking around school made her realize how difficult it would be once school starts, most especially after practice when she had to walk all the way to the other side of the school just because she agreed to park beside Nancy when they were still together.  

 

The distance will be enough to parade herself around prying eyes but it’s fortunately a Saturday — the school barely has a handful of students save for those who decided to start the year early.

 

There were some student council staff members (that form a semblance of a civilized high school society), Advanced Placement students (who get more Yes’s on SATs than on dates), and members of some club. Or cult. Or maybe both (The damn ‘Ottacku’ Club’s cover dances for anime tunes and blood pacts!). And while she wasn’t sure if these people were remotely interested in her, she tried her best not to care less. Until one of the junior league footballers screamed out “Heads!”

 

Sana watched as the ball flew high up into the air where it seemed to float for a while before arching back down to earth. She watched it fall like a speeding missile where she hoped it doesn’t hit any unfortunate girl who’s on a ladder, stapling some flyers for — holy shit!

 

Sana dropped her bag and sprinted towards the first possible ball casualty of the year (and a ladder? Seriously?). She looked back at the ball and it seemed like she’ll intercept it just in time. Maybe so much in time that she’s speeding up more than she could force herself to brake.

 

The ball comes in, Sana dives. The metal ladder falls, then a squeal. A lot of clattering came after (also maybe a skittering cat, and a confetti of flyers), and then there’s a heavy feeling pressing down on her torso. There’s also the smell of blended cherry and baby cologne, and Sana wonders why death smells so damn good (It’s a smell that reminded her of leadership summit).

 

“Ugh..”

 

Sana’s heart clenches a bit when she hears a soft groan. As the weight pressing over her shifts carefully, Sana props herself up on her elbows to keep her — or both of their balances.

 

She carefully opens her eyes and finds Dahyun beautifly sprawled over her with her eyes wincing in pain. Dahyun managed to raise her body, straddling Sana between her arms as she slowly came back to her senses.

 

“Oh my god! Are you alright?!” Dahyun covered her mouth with a hand when she realized who was toppled under her. She didn’t even notice that half of her body is still on Sana.

 

“Yeah. I think?” Sana assures but quickly shifts to doubt. “Am I still alive? I’m still alive, right?”

 

As visible members of the scholastic community, Kim Dahyun knows who Sana is. She watched her play since her junior high school days. Her contribution as a quarterback easily earned her the team captaincy, plus the hearts and romantic fantasies of everyone else.

 

Sana could say the same to Dahyun. She’s the poster child of the perfect academic achiever. She ran successful campaigns of vice presidency for the past years until she was voted as the president. She’s good in class, even more so in her civic duties. But of course, she’s not as popular outside. After all, people treat her as the extension of the school administration. The popular kids never really sat well with authority, and less popular ones just hold her in respect. But that’s about it.

 

In the simplest sense, everybody loves Sana and everybody knows Dahyun.

 

“What the hell were you doing running around like that? For a quarterback, you’re pretty clumsy, Sana. You could’ve killed yourself!” Dahyun’s brows furrow with worry.

 

“I’d die from your weight first than running head first through a wall.” Sana groaned when she felt her elbow shake.

 

“I’m so sorry!” Dahyun quickly stands up from a very compromising position and offers both of her hands to pull Sana up. Sana takes one, and Dahyun pulls this one hand with both of hers. The quarterback promptly dusted off her yoga pants and pullovers, which made Dahyun do the same to herself.

 

“You look fine.” Dahyun reassures. They were both quiet for a quick second until Sana raises a brow and gave her a smirk. “No! No! No! I meant like you’re clinically okay.” Dahyun waved her hands in front of her. “Not that you don’t look fine-fine. It’s just — uh, I think that being injury free is our top priority!”

 

Sana only laughed at the council president’s flustered self.

 

“Thank you, Dahyun, for making sure that I’m both injury free kind of fine and fine-fine.” Sana flashes a dashingly smug smile before throwing the ball back into the pitch. A player catches it, then Sana waved off the rest of the junior team back, telling them that they’re both alright. “You alright?”

 

“I guess?” Dahyun inspects herself. “For now, at least. I so hate to be that person who kills the star quarterback, and we’re not even a day into the school year.”

 

“Well, don’t wanna be that person who almost killed the president, but here I am.”

 

“Ain’t that a treat for the student body.” Dahyun laughs awkwardly. “It’s a good way to skip a party, though. I’ll give you that.”

 

“Wait, wait, wait.” Sana waves her hand and continued, “Like Jennie’s party? Are you not going?”

 

“Errr.. well.” Dahyun winces.

 

“It’s our last year, Dahyun! You should definitely come!” Sana tried to coax her. Which is pretty ironic since she only said yes to Momo half heartedly. Maybe she’s just looking for someone to share the corner with once the party starts. Didn’t seem like a bad choice as of the moment. “It’s just the start of the year. What could go wrong?”

 

It’s funny how whenever anyone says that line, _‘What could’_ almost always definitely _‘Goes Wrong’._

 

“If I finish early with council work, I might.” Dahyun weasels out. Her eyes wandered unconsciously down on the flyers she’s holding, and so Sana’s eyes did so too. “Like you said, it’s the start of the year. You know how it always turn out for us. Council or the team.”

 

Sana narrows her eyes and steps in just a bit closer. Dahyun didn’t move, but she needed to push her head back just to look at Sana in the eyes.

 

“Do these flyer things count as council work.” She asks.

 

“Yeah?” Dahyun said, sounding a bit disappointed. But before she could even say more, she felt the flyers slip off her hands and was left looking at her empty hands. “Hey!”

 

Sana already walked past her when she raised the freshly snatched publicity materials. She’s smug, but in an adorable way. Just like when she caught Dahyun when she fell down on top of her.

 

“We’ll cover more ground if we split up.” Sana suggests. “I’ll catch you in the party, President Kim.”

 

Dahyun could’ve swore that Sana winked at her as she walked away, and it left her heart pounding like she ran a fucking marathon. A slight panic claws its way out of her chest because as much as she wanted to figure why she’s feeling that way, her brain just reduced itself into static noise.

 

And the static noise said: What the fuck just happened?

  


///

  


The party was nothing like Dahyun ever seen or imagined. Not with the pounding music against her chest and not with the slight buzz that made her a bit lightheaded.

 

It didn’t even take too long when she had her baptism of shots. The moment she got into the party, Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung greeted her in alcohol laced screaming, ending only in that hot mix of grenadine, vodka, and a bit of lime. It tastes good but damn does that burn everything between her throat and stomach.

 

Her careful meandering between the suffocating crowds and the dizzying strobe lights led her out into the side of the house. The entire place isn’t really rest friendly for fresh drunks like her. The indoors are noisy, and with the keg wars in full swing along the pool side, the outdoors is a no-go zone either.

 

In the middle of the crazy revelry, her lips curve up into a smile when she saw the ladder leading up to the first floor rooftop. She fell from a ladder before, quite freshly too actually, so getting up there half drunk isn’t the worst of ideas. Too bad Sana isn’t here to catch her.

 

Where is Sana, anyway? It’s been an hour and she haven’t seen the quarterback yet. Not that Dahyun’s deliberately waiting for her just because Sana winked at her. That would be totally crazy.

 

Okay, maybe a little bit. But not entirely. A teeny tiny bit. Or something a bit smaller than that.

 

She sits down on the tiled roof and hugs her knees closer. Her denim shorts are doing a piss poor job of keeping her warm, and she’s just thankful that she had her letterman on. The cold winds graze lightly against her skin, and slowly fills up her lungs with much needed air. The party ain’t so bad, to be honest. She just doesn’t know how to move around in these kinds of events especially now that she could feel her head spinning to the opposite direction.

 

“Party not to your liking?” a girl asks from down below. Dahyun cranes her neck and looks down to a very familiar smug face. Smug, but in an adorable way, wearing an identical letterman jacket as hers, in tight dark jeans and tousled hair.

 

“What? Gonna make me fall for you again?” Dahyun asks between laughter as she settles back down.

 

“If that’s what you want, I think we can figure something out.” Sana rode along with a cute laugh.

 

“Fuck you, Sana.” Dahyun’s eyes turn into upside down crescents when she chuckled. It might have thrown Sana just a bit off guard, but not as much as Dahyun when she’s completely lost on where she’s coming up with these lines and cusses.

 

“Our council president swearing! And drinking! Ought to be an interesting year.” Sana teases as walks closer to the ladder.

 

“That’s just the booze talking. You’ll forget this in the morning.” Dahyun swats her hand in the air.

 

“I have an amazing memory. Even when drunk.” Sana taps her finger against her temple. “What are you doing up there anyway?”

 

“Getting some air.”

 

“Sobering up won’t do us any good now, would it?”

 

“You’re the one to talk, considering you’re late.” Dahyun smirks and raises a brow.

 

“So you’ve been waiting for me?” Sana pushes back, and Dahyun replied with just playfully rolling her eyes. “Hiding up there is no way to spend a party. Come on, I’ll show you how to put that drunkenness to good use.”

 

“Fine, help me down.” Dahyun stands up and dusts her butt, then she walk towards the edge of the roof.

 

“Wait, am I seriously just gonna catch you or —.”

 

“Infinite Year!”

 

Before Sana could do anything that remotely resembles a preparation, Dahyun has already safely landed on her arms.

 

Reflex — if catching a falling Dahyun ain’t all that, then Sana doesn’t know what is. She could brag about it but Dahyun was already climbing off her arms, taking with her that oh so familiar scent of cherry and vanilla.

 

“Good job, QB!” Dahyun pats Sana’s shoulder, quite impressed. Then, when she has finished dusting herself off, she looked around for a moment before staring back into Sana’s eyes. “So what are we gonna do now?”

 

“I’m gonna show you how to fucking party.” Sana flips her wrist and looks at her watch. “It’s almost time for dessert so I hope you like jello.”

 

And shit, that jello was not in any way, a fucking dessert.

  


///

  


Beer pong teams were decided on basis of attire, so with identical school sponsored letterman jackets, Sana and Dahyun would have to face Sehun and Baekhyun with the backward snapbacks.

 

Dahyun isn’t an athlete, but every year, six teams get identical lettermans. MINATOZAKI for FOOTBALL and KIM for COUNCIL. But now, with how things are going, they should both have BEER PONG on the tails of their jackets.

 

_Plop!_

 

 _“_ Oooooh!” Everyone loses their minds when it was the council president, not Sana, who put the last nail (or ball) into the basketball boys’ coffin. From afar, Nancy narrows her eyes at the sight of her ex and this new girl she keeps on the side. There’s no way Sana’s settling on the likes of Dahyun. Besides, it’s impossible to replace a girl like her: the queen of the cheer team.

 

Meanwhile, Sana high fives Dahyun with both hands (Dahyun needed to jump a bit because Sana’s hands were too high), then they both proceeded to collect their $50 from the boys. With the agreement to spend it together on Monday, they went off to see who’s battling the kegs.

 

“I had a feeling I’d find you here.” Sana nudged Jihyo’s shoulder.

 

“Well, mama gots to see over the kids.” Jihyo nods towards the keg warriors by the pool and turns to Dahyun as well.

 

_(Park Jihyo, Senior, Tight End, In charge of youngins, the only friend that seemed to have her affairs in order)_

 

“I heard you gave the basketball boys a run for their money, chief?” She glances at Dahyun in greeting then watched how a junior footballer approach the kegs. Chief is quite a nickname, but Dahyun ain’t complaining.

 

“Can’t say I’m disappointed being preceded by that kind reputation. I’ve had worse.” Dahyun stands closer beside Sana, tucking her hands inside her jacket pockets and watched whatever Jihyo is watching.

 

“It actually suits you well. Pong Chief.” Jihyo smiles and they all laugh.

 

“Who’s challenging who?” Sana finally asks.

 

“Jackson against one of ours.”

 

“I’ll be damned.” Sana folds her arms and cocks her hips at the sight of a short haired girl in a white baseball cap. “Is that my junior quarterback?”

 

“One and only.” Jihyo leans and claps her hands, “Up the hatch, Yujin! Let’s go!”

 

“Hey.” Sana leans and whispers “I just can’t stand here and watch. That’s my junior quarterback. We have to help her.”

 

“We like ‘us’ kind of ‘we’?” Dahyun points at herself, and Sana nods.

 

“Yeah.” Sana smirks. “Never held up someone in keg stand before?”

 

That was a challenge. A challenge that Dahyun won’t have problems passing on if she’s sober. Being a little bit braver, a bit more reckless, and a bit more excited, Dahyun tailed closely behind Sana.

 

Yujin was already testing the grips when they got close. It was obvious that she was nervous but that doesn’t compare to how Momo was panic cursing between her teeth.

 

“She gonna get killed out there!” Momo hisses, making sure that Yujin didn’t hear.

 

“Not if we have the power of math on our side.” Dahyun says as she tapped on the gauge on the trigger system.

 

“What the fucking hell, what?” Momo grabs a bunch of her hair. “I’m sorry but am I in a fucking math quiz bee?”

 

“Momo, shut up.” Sana frowns in annoyance before crouching down to Dahyun’s level. “What do we need to do?”

 

The sight of the president beside a keg stand is already confusing as it is, but the sight of her testing the triggers and crunching numbers in quick math takes the cake.

 

“Yujin, listen only to the Mississippi count. Gulp every first -ssi and -ppi. That will help you pace up.” Dahyun instructs then turns to Sana. “We hold her up by the calves so she can move her feet. Momo can squeeze the trigger.”

 

“Wow, look at you! Keg stand quarterback!” Sana says in surprise. Yujin wasn’t as excited though and just holds on to the sides of the canister. “Wiggle your feet if you want down.”

 

“Yes, cap.” Yujin nodded obediently, her eyes locked on Jackson and his friends.

 

“How’d you end up here anyway?” Sana pushes her jacket sleeves up her arms.

 

“Long story.” Yujin takes a deep breath and gives Dahyun a nod.

 

“Again, you only need to do two things. Listen and drink up. We’ll take care of the rest.” Dahyun pats the younger girl’s shoulder.

 

“Where’d you learn how to play this?” Sana whispered between excited giggles.

 

Dahyun bit her lip, distracting Sana for a quick second. “Actually, I don’t. My math may not be as exact, but it’s pretty close” she winked, quite surprised herself that she did.

 

At the first whistle, the participants, propped themselves over the kegs. The second whistle signals the head stands. The third and long one cues everyone to count and for Yujin to listen carefully. The crowd dulls out and the only thing she could hear is herself gulping at steady intervals.

 

The pace is good but this will definitely leave a mark in the morning.

 

One Mississippi to five Mississippi felt like a minute. Eighth Mississippi felt like ten. Fifteen Mississippi felt like dinner spilling out of her throat. Twenty Mississippi sounded like barfing and the crowd going wild. Good thing it wasn’t her. Twenty five Mississippi and she felt someone squeezing her calves. Twenty seven Mississippi and the gushing in her mouth stops.

 

Twenty seven is Yujin’s new favorite number, and Minjoo will be the first one to know that.

 

“Holy fuck!” Jihyo screams with Momo. “Yujin’s a beast!”

 

Sana was pumping her fists in the air, screaming while she wrapped an arm around Dahyun. No one seemed to care. Not even Dahyun, because she was screaming too.

 

“Beast! Beast! Beast! Beast!” The crowd chants but Yujin winces. She covers her foamed mouth with the back of her hand, while her other hand was being held up high in the air. This was a bad idea, even for her. But it made Jackson look like a fool so she’ll take what she can get.  

 

The basketball boys retreat back to wherever hole they came from while Yujin finds her way back  to Yujin and Hyewon. That’s enough attention for the week, she figures. She just hopes this won’t catch on once the new week starts.

 

As for Dahyun, this night will just get wilder and wilder.

 

“Mississippi!” Sana and Dahyun cheers, and everyone knows that it’s not because it’s their favorite state. “Mississippi!” They cheer again, this time the football team cheered with them.

 

They went to do more shots and more beers. When Sana felt like Dahyun was close to getting drunk, she’d take Dahyun’s shots and let her do water instead. For a girl who’s only experience at parties are children’s parties, Dahyun was holding herself pretty well.

 

Sana watched in awe how their president’s face contorts at the taste of lemon juice chasing down the tequila shot. Or how Dahyun would shoot popcorn into Jeongyeon’s mouth from across the table. How she chased vodka with lime. How she mixed rum with soda. How she adorably cowered in the corner for a ‘Skittles break’. How she passionately argued about orange being the best hangover cure despite not being hungover ever. How she would always hide close behind Sana’s shoulder when she can’t take the tequila shot given to her. Or how she would laugh whenever she squeezes Sana’s cheeks together.

 

(“Damn, aren’t you the adorable squirrel?” Dahyun says. She’s drunk and Sana is in the mood to be feely. So she nods in surrender, puffing her cheeks out to loosen the hands pressing on either side of her face.)

 

They also found themselves sitting on the kitchen counter sharing the last slice of pepperoni pizza. They passed it back and forth, taking small bites because they were raised in a house of sharing and mutual respect. As they partake into the spirit that is the pizza, Sana begins to laugh with a stuffed mouth.

 

“What?” Dahyun turns at her and smiles.

 

“Nothing.” Sana looks down on her lap, still laughing.”

 

“Oh, come on!” Dahyun punches Sana’s shoulder. The quarterback quickly rubs her arm and laughs with Dahyun.

 

“What the fuck?” Sana winces in between laughs.

 

“I’m serious! I thought we’re good!” Dahyun whines on why Sana was keeping whatever a secret. “What are you laughing about?”

 

“I just think that you’re cool, okay?” Sana ruffles Dahyun’s hair, and Dahyun didn’t even relent. She just sat there as Sana turned her head into a mess. A lock of strands over her face limply flew up when Dahyun huffed.

 

“I would’ve killed you if this was a Monday, Sana.”

 

“You already did that when you fell on top of me. On a Saturday morning.” Sana says between chewing the last bite of the crust, and in between smiles, and in between laughter.

 

“I think you’re pretty cool, too.” Dahyun brushes her hair back, a few locks falling on the side of her red flushed face. The soft light bounces off her pale features, and Sana can’t even tell how long she has been staring. It’s crazy that she’s only noticing things just now, like how deep Dahyun’s hazel eyes were. Or her cute little gesture of biting her lip when thinking or wincing. Or how Dahyun scrunches her nose when she doesn’t like something. Her smile is hard to miss, too, especially when her eyes turn into upside down crescents or when she laughs out super loud with her friends. No pretensions, no filters. Just Dahyun and her (apparently) disarming charms.

 

They sat quietly for a while, with Dahyun shyly averting her gaze away from Sana’s curious stare. Then, they were both pulled from their bubble when a familiar saxophone intro blasted out from the speakers. Dahyun jumps from her seat and looked around. People began to crowd in the middle of the living room with the lights blinking in neon haze.

 

“Come on! They’re playing my song!” Dahyun tugs Sana softly by the wrist, only letting her go when they passed by the doorway. The moment lasted for a second but Sana’s arm was still hanging together with her thoughts. Dahyun tugged her by the hand, and it wasn’t the touch that bothered her. It was when she realized she was looking for it when Dahyun let go.

 

But before she could even make sense of things, they both found themselves in the middle of a hyped crowd dancing and jumping to a Carly Rae Jepsen song. Dahyun’s friends also joined in and as the chorus started, everybody sang as loud as they can.

 

“Baby!” Dahyun screams with the crowd and points at Sana, her face making fun exaggerated expressions for every line she sings. “Take me! To the! Feeling! Come on, you know this song!”

 

Sana laughs as the crowd closes in arounded them, bringing them a closer together. Dahyun was jumping in front of her hair her flipping beautifully from side to side. If this was her and Nancy, she wouldn’t even be allowed to go crazy, or join this huddle of rather ‘normal’ people. But here she is, gently holding Dahyun’s waist as they both screamed “I’ll be your sinner in secret! When the! Lights! Go out!”

 

_Run away with me. Run away with me._

 

Maybe they had too much to drink, or maybe it was just Sana, but they’re pressed against each other and none of them seemed too interested to step away. It’s just them, the song, more drinks, and the soft neon lights bouncing off their features.

 

At that short moment, and the night that came with it, Sana never thought about her broken heart. Dahyun never thought about the school year ahead. This night, they’re both alive and reckless. In this infinite night, they set themselves ablaze in a kind of freedom that they tasted for the first time.

 

No one would have guessed what happened next. No one would have guessed how this single night changed the rest of their lives.

  


///

  


_“What was that? The one that you said before you jumped?” Sana’s words smelled of alcohol and lime. Her eyes were half closed, half glazed, half blurred._

 

_“Hm?” Dahyun says, equally drunk._

 

_“Before you jumped. On me? To me?” Sana finds the right words, but settling on another question instead. “Something infinite?”_

 

_“Infinite year.” Dahyun affirms with a chuckle._

 

_“What’s that?”_

 

_“If I tell you, I would have to kill you..” Dahyun says quite proudly._

 

_“Should we go to somewhere private then?”_

  


///

  


It was cold, unlike any other August.

 

In fact, it might be a bit too cold for Dahyun’s liking. It’s not freezing but it’s the kind of cold where it feels like there’s only your skin against the blanket. Nothing else in between.

 

The veins in her temples throbbed in uncanny beats when she opened her eyes. Alcohol has this nasty effect that she’s learning just now, and for the first time, she has the right to quietly mumble one of greatest lies that graced the history of mankind: _“I’m not drinking ever again.”_

 

She half got up, propping herself on her elbows while she gave a chance for her vision to refocus and clear out. The silhouettes are unfamiliar, and that never really sat well with her. She squinted her eyes to help her discern what’s happening. The skies outside are splashed with the colors of maybe five in the morning. Probably explains why it’s colder than usual.

 

Her eyes trail up from the ceiling (which is very different from her room) and down to the table, the dimly lit lamp, and the litter of clothes on the floor. Some of them are vaguely familiar, especially the lettermans and the denim shorts.

 

More specifically, what are her clothes doing on the floor? And why is she on a bed in a room that’s not hers?

 

“Oh my god. Fuck.” Dahyun’s eyes widened so much she thought they’d pop out from the sockets.

 

There are things that can cure one from a hangover quickly than a chicken noodle soup or a punch in the face. And nothing is record breakingly effective than —

 

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Dahyun whisper-spits as she stares down on her half naked self under the covers. “Holy! Fuck!”

 

She quickly glances beside her only to see a pair of hazel eyes already staring right back at her.

 

“Oh my god.” Sana breathes out shakily, equally as half undressed as Dahyun. She peeks under the blanket that she was holding against her chest, then her eyes dart back to Dahyun’s.

 

_Oh my fucking god?!_

  


*********

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> And there goes our ball! This prompt has been playing in my head for quite some time now and I think it's about time to entertain our inner thoughts to satisfy the God of Lexicon! Nothing much about this first chapter other than fair warnings that some prompts will be taken from my twitter page. Follow us up at @superfritobae to get more insights about the story and how it unfolds!
> 
> Just like always, tell us what you think in the comments section below! And if you like the story, getcho friends and spread that SaiDa love!


	3. As Shakespeare Once Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up beside the quarterback isn't really part of the plan, but Dahyun will soon discover that nothing works according to plan.
> 
> Attention: (song cue) contains a link to a song that you should listen to at a specific time while reading! :)

**As Shakespeare Once Said**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

  


_“The course of true love never did run smooth.” - Lysander, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 1 (William Shakespeare)_

 

///

 

It was cold, unlike any other August. 

 

In fact, it might be a bit too cold for Dahyun’s liking. It’s not freezing but it’s the kind of cold where it’s only your bare skin against the blanket. Nothing else in between.

 

The veins in her temples throbbed in uncanny beats when she opened her eyes. Alcohol has this nasty effect that she’s learning just now, and for the first time, she has the right to quietly mumble one of greatest lies that graced the history of mankind: “I’m not drinking ever again.”

 

She half got up, propping herself on her elbows while she gave a chance for her vision to refocus and clear out. The silhouettes are unfamiliar, and that never really sat well with her. She squinted her eyes to help her discern what’s happening. The skies outside are splashed with the colors of maybe five in the morning. Probably explains why it’s colder than usual. 

 

Her eyes trail up from the ceiling (which is very different from her room) and down to the table, the dimly lit lamp, and the litter of clothes on the floor. Some of them are vaguely familiar, especially the lettermans and the denim shorts. 

 

More specifically, what are her clothes doing on the floor? And why is she on a bed in a room that’s not hers?

 

“Oh my god. Fuck.” Dahyun’s eyes widened so much she thought they’d pop out from the sockets.

 

There are things that can cure one from a hangover quickly than a chicken noodle soup or a punch in the face. And nothing is record breakingly effective than —

 

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Dahyun whisper-spits as she stares down on her half naked self under the covers. “Holy! Fuck!” 

 

She quickly glances beside her only to see a pair of hazel eyes already staring right back at her. 

 

“Oh my god.” Sana breathes out shakily, equally as half undressed as Dahyun. She peeks under the blanket that she was holding against her chest, then her eyes dart back to Dahyun’s. 

 

Dahyun could only look around, look back at Sana, look back at her half naked self, open her mouth to speak only to stop midway, and ultimately jumps off the bed even if it’s freezing outside the blankets. 

 

“Shit. Shit. Shit!” Dahyun hops on to one foot as she pulled her denim shorts up her legs. “No one can see this! We have to go.” 

 

“Dahyun, wait!” Sana crawls out to the edge of the bed, “I think we might be overreacting here.” 

 

But before they could even set themselves to calm down, a lull of murmurs outside the door began to grow louder for each passing second. Dahyun could only conclude that these are stragglers looking to crash themselves into somewhere more comfortable, but the thought of them accidentally barging into the room is more than enough to let Dahyun see a glimpse of the imminent future. Rumors spreading across classrooms like wildfire, staring eyes, quiet whispers, not to mention anonymous tweets for blind items. High school is fertile soil for gossip, and she refuses to be fodder. At least not like this.

 

“Shit!” Dahyun panics as the sounds outside the door came closer. “Sana! We need to go!” 

 

She puts on the jacket and flips her hair out from inside of the collar and Sana can’t tell why she just keeps on watching. But when she was greeted by raised brows and screaming eyes, Sana jumps off the bed and gets in her pants, maybe cursing a bit because she can’t remember why her pants had to be this tight.

 

“My dad’s gonna kill me.” Dahyun winces as she checked the twelve missed calls on her phone, last one being at 2 in the morning. She grabbed all of her remaining things and glanced back at Sana when she heard the voices stopping just by the door. Sana pauses for a quick second as she pulls her shirt down, listening if they’re gonna come in. 

 

A beat passes, then she looks at the window. 

 

“Dahyun, window. Go!” 

 

Under the cover of darkness, Dahyun crawled out to the first floor rooftop like she was so used to it. The wind was biting cold but it never really mattered when they both hear the knob turn ever so slowly. Dahyun peeked into the window and watched as the door opened slightly. Sana tensed up, Dahyun poised to duck down and run if she needs to. But when the door didn’t open any further, they both let their lungs unclench. 

 

The moment didn’t not last when Sana looked at the letterman on the floor.

 

“Shit.” Sana curses at the piece of clothing that can tie them to the crime scene. They didn’t speak much further at that point, and with the last glance they shared, it was decided that it will not be a mutual getaway. There was a hint of hesitation in Dahyun’s eyes like she still has much to say, Sana remembers, but when the door threatened to open, Dahyun snaps back to the reality that she needs to leave and quick. 

 

“Go.” Sana mouths as she quietly runs to her jacket, snatches it, then continues onto the wall just beside the door. Dahyun hides beside the window and peeks in just a little bit to see that half of  Sana was covered by the opened door. 

 

From where they were both standing, they just shared a brief sad smile to each other, as if to understand that this is the only goodbye they could afford despite the memorable night they just shared. Their gazes lingered, asking for some form of assurance that things will not go weird once Monday comes. 

 

Sana’s lips curved up a bit then she nods once, very discreetly. Dahyun acknowledges and vaults down from the roof then runs off into the curb. 

 

She runs away, as if she committed a crime that no one could know. And while there was no felony involved, there was this stinging amount of adrenaline clawing its way out of her chest. Did she just defy the laws of her curfew? Is she planning on slipping into her home like a homeless intruder? Has she turned into a household felon? How the hell did she even wake up half naked beside Atteridge’s star quarterback? And why is she chuckling softly to herself? 

 

The escape is thrilling to say the least, and as much as they got away with tonight, it will take the entirety of them to get out of the mess that’s called Monday. 

 

///

  


Dahyun slips into her room through a window she left unlocked the night before. She quickly undresses and dumps her clothes in the hamper then changes into her oversized shirt that she always wears at home. When she was sure that no one is awake to see her come in, she washes her face and crashes into her bed.

 

It will only be a few hours now before her family sets out for church and it’s probably a good idea to bunk in for a couple of hours before she puts on a show to convince her dad that she came in at around two in the morning. And that she didn’t sleep with someone. 

 

Meanwhile, Sana nursed her hangover as soon as she got home. She drops her back on the mattress and just lets it consume her entire being. The sun was rising by the time she got home, but she somehow found it difficult to sleep. Instead, she finds herself staring at the other side of the bed like there was a girl lying beside her. 

 

Sana chuckles at the thought of what happened, especially when she remembered how flustered they both were just this morning. It made her want to ask Dahyun if she got home safely, or if she’s dead, then she remembers that they never exchanged numbers. 

 

Maybe on Monday, she thinks, then she lets herself be taken by sleep.

  


///

  


“Dahyun, honey?” her dad calls out. “Can you bring the laundry to the laundromat? The machine is acting up again.” 

 

Dahyun sits up and twists the back of her hands against her sleep deprived her eyes. She was just rudely awakened from her second sleep for the day (third, if one counts the Saturday night one), and everything still feels like a haze with the awful taste of slight dehydration. She sniffs deeply to get some air into her lungs before she tilts her head up to shout back. 

 

This is going to hurt.

 

“Okay!” Dahyun calls back out, quickly regretting why she needed to shout. She could just wish that her voice reached downstairs. Because if it didn’t, the veins in her temples might not take it again. “Ugh.”, then she got up anyway.

 

Dahyun is especially obedient today. Not because it’s Sunday, but mostly because that’s how you get leverage just in case you get caught. Chores are like currency. You spend them to dampen the blow when you get into trouble, and at this point, she’d haul everyone’s laundry if it means she can reduce the sentence of possible grounding to just three days. 

 

She takes the receipt of the rush order, quite satisfied that their clothes will be ready later that evening, then heads out to a nearby coffee shop to pass the time. There was a short exchange of greetings with the girl behind the counter, and she was quite relieved that she seems disinterested in talking as much as Dahyun does. 

 

At this point, Sunday has almost burned off. It made her wonder why she haven’t heard from her friends yet, which is strange, because she’s already alive considering the amount of alcohol she drank last night. Did Jeongyeon even finish the party? Did Chaeyoung?

_BZZZZT._

 

Dahyun’s phone vibrates from an incoming call. She could’ve said ‘Speaking of the devil,’ but then again, Chaeyoung always preferred coming in unannounced.

 

“Hey, just checking in on you, Dubs.” Chaeyoung greets as soon as Dahyun answered her call. 

 

“I am still alive, as far as the simplest definition of alive is concerned. And that’s no thanks to you and Jeongyeon, actually.” Dahyun says as she paid for her strawberry smoothie.

 

“You’re welcome!” the voice on the other line says.

 

“Chae, I said ‘No, thanks to you and Jeongyeon.’?”

 

“Yeah. And I said that you don’t need to thank us for being good friends with every chance you get. Geez! I mean, wow. Really? All the time?” Chaeyoung rebutts and Dahyun just rolls her eyes because she knows that she’s not gonna win this. 

 

She mouthed a thank you when she got her drink, then she marched down to the table where her stuff is. 

 

“What happened to you last night anyways? You and Sana disappeared. Did you guys?!” Chaeyoung asks, and she would’ve pried further if she only saw how Dahyun tensed up like she was struck by a bolt of lightning.

 

“W-what?” Dahyun replies, hating that she had to stutter. “Where did you even hear that?” 

 

“Hey, don’t ask me. You were with her the whole night.” Chaeyoung shrugs. “I would’ve assumed that you guys are, you know, dating? Then I remembered you’re the sacrificial virgin for the next harvest season, so I thought maybe she just took you home and left your corpse by your door.” 

 

“Wow. All of this coming from a person with a long and comprehensive history of dating no one!”  

 

“You very well know that I am a late bloomer. Come college, I will show you.” Chaeyoung said in the most serious tone she could muster, but her tone changed back to her usual spright when she continued. “But seriously, though. What’s up with you and Sana?” 

 

“She’s just trying to be nice, I guess. After the accident and stuff.” Dahyun shrugged. 

 

“Accident? What accident?” Chaeyoung asked. 

 

“Dude, she literally dove in and toppled the ladder that I was using. I almost died!” 

 

“Yeah. I’m glad you’re fine. Would’ve been bad news for Idaho and their potatoes.” 

 

“Enough with the sacrificial virgin!” Dahyun snaps, but quickly subsides when she felt the gazes turn to her direction. She just made small bows to the people she disturbed and covered her lips to make sure that Chaeyoung could hear her whisper. “As I said, maybe it’s her way of saying sorry or whatever.” 

 

“I’m just saying, Dubs. Sana and her sphere, that’s a bad idea. She just came out of a messy breakup and rumors are going around that she’s out for revenge or whatever. Considering that the Queen Bitch herself is her last ex, that’s a lot of pain if you’re looking to finish senior year unscathed.”

 

Finishing senior year unscathed. Right. It was the ultimate goal.

 

“We’re okay, Chae.” Dahyun sighs, still appreciating how much Chaeyoung has been looking out for her, “And isn’t that the reason why you dragged me into that party? To make friends, get drunk, and just be out there?” 

 

“Speaking of which? Not bad for your first high school party ever! And it’s just the start of the year!” Chaeyoung celebrates. “I guess it’s pretty fun. Right? I mean, I had fun.” 

 

Fun. 

 

Playing with water guns is fun. Making rainbow pancakes is fun. Popping bubble wraps is fun (and satisfying). 

 

But last night was in a totally different level. She tried at least seven different kinds of alcohol for the first time. Played coach for keg stands and actually won. Robbed $50 dollars in a game of beer pong. Danced her heart out to her favorite song. Felt being held close and comfortably singled out for the first time. Didn’t feel like an outcast while she hung out with her closest friends and just maybe, grew closer to an unlikely figure of the student body. 

 

Then there’s the feeling of warm smooth skin against hers. Jokes and conversations shared in intimate whispers. The cool breeze, and the musky scent blended with white cotton and citrus.

 

It was not fun. It was more than fun. It’s overwhelming, memorable, and exciting. It’s exhilarating, and crazy. Sans the part of waking up half naked beside Sana, that night was life-changing. To what extent, Dahyun is about to find out.

 

So she takes a deep breath and looks outside the store window, staring at nothing in particular — just trying to remember the last time she actually felt that alive.

 

She just shakes her head at the thought of it. 

 

“Yeah,” Dahyun closes her eyes and smiles. “Pretty fun.”

  


///

  
  


“Well,” Chaeyoung starts. “She didn’t deny it.”

 

“What do you mean she didn’t deny?” Jeongyeon replies, “Chae, hold Point B for a quick sec. I’m just gonna quick scope that son of a bitch. He’s beginning to annoy me.” 

 

Chaeyoung complies and ducks her character behind some crates that was looking over Point B.

 

“She said, and I quote —”

 

“Hold on.” Jeongyeon halts Chaeyoung then they both hear a sniper gunshot. “In your face motherfucker. Sorry, Chae. Not you. I love you, dude. Anyway, and you quote what?”

 

“And I quote ‘What? Where did you even hear that?’ or something like that. Jeongyeon! Behind! Behind! Behind!” Chaeyoung suddenly calls out.

 

Jeongyeon takes down the two enemies who came from behind her then pushed on to Point A to secure the capture. The brief gunfight put a pause in the conversation, then it was Jeongyeon who picks it up when she got shot at from three different directions.

 

“That’s interesting.” She drops her controller and stretched her arms. “She could’ve said no.”

 

“Right?” Chaeyoung felt her suspicions were vindicated. “Didn’t pry much about it, though. Just told her it was trouble.” 

 

The round ends with their team winning.

 

“I can’t tell unless I see it myself. But it is kinda weird. Weren’t they like acquaintances?” Jeongyeon scrolls through the scores.

 

“Not really. They have a few encounters here and there. I mean, she’s team captain and Dahyun’s the president. They’re bound to interact one way or the other.” Chaeyoung explained. “They’re not close but they’re not strangers either.”

 

“Huh.” Jeongyeon just agrees because she’s too busy fixing her equipment loadout. 

 

“But how crazy is that? Like if they actually dated.” Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon laughs at the idea. “Power frickin’ couple. Then we get to enjoy the spoils of war. No cheerleaders behind my back and shit.”

 

At this point, even if they’re just taking via in game intercom, Chaeyoung felt Jeongyeon’s brow crease. 

 

“Did they come at you again? Because I swear to god, Son Chaeyoung!” 

 

“No! No!” the younger one quickly defends to appease her friend. “No incidents.” 

 

“Better be.” Jeongyeon huffs. “And please don’t keep it from me and Dahyun if anything happens, okay?”

 

“Alright already, dad!” Chaeyoung pushes off, hoping she sounded stronger than she let on. “I’m fine. Go worry about your band or something. Don’t you have rehearsals tonight?”

 

“I know you hate it when we ask too much but we’re just looking out for you, okay?” Jeongyeon reminds her before logging out from Battlestorm. “GG, Tigermeister. Rehearsals time.” 

 

“Yup! See you tomorrow, NoJam.” 

 

The line cuts and Chaeyoung watches as a notification from her screen popped up telling that Jeongyeon went offline. No incidents, she told her, and it would’ve been true if she didn’t have to take her books back home this morning because someone thought it was funny to blow up a can of Coke in her locker. 

 

But Jeongyeon doesn’t have to know. Most especially not Dahyun if she wants to keep her friend out of trouble. Not when she can easily be hated just by holding the highest office of the student body.

 

“Ugh.” her dread translated into a pained groan. “Monday.”

  


///

  


If she didn’t come home dead drunk this morning, then maybe Sunday didn’t burn too fast. But here’s Sana drying her hair with a towel, stopping now and then to scroll on her phone.

 

The party was tiring, yes. Being drunk, even more so. But for all intents and purposes, Jennie’s party wasn’t the worst of ideas when it comes to ways on spending a Saturday night. 

 

To where it’s due, Jennie did throw an awesome party to kick off the year, and Sana can’t help but think that she owes Momo some sort of thanks for convincing her to come. But that won’t happen because Sana wants to live, and Momo will not let her live without rubbing that on her face. 

 

It was a good night. It wasn’t awkward as she thought it would be. Hell, she can’t even remember a moment where she needed to escape from anywhere that has Nancy in it. There was no moment turning into an emotionally charged episode of surprise claustrophobia. No moment where she had to cut conversations short just to escape, or moments where she had to go around the house just to avoid seeing her ex girlfriend in the living area. And even if there were small moments that threatened her resolve, those were quickly filled in by Skittles breaks, popcorn shots, or a quick pizza refills (albeit sharing just a slice).  

 

It’s filled in by rescue shots, a $50 win, and eyes that turn into upside down crescents whenever she smiles. Thinking about it now, Sana never really had the chance to thank Dahyun for that night. 

 

The French exit wasn’t surprising but she would be lying if she says that she didn’t want it to be a bit more ceremonial. A hug? A friendly kiss? She doesn’t know which is acceptable. But what she does know is that all of those were way better than just a nod. 

 

Sana sighs at the thought of it, and maybe it bothered her enough. Enough that she found herself scrolling through @kmdhyun’s Instagram account. It wasn’t her first time in this side of the internet, and it shows through the engagements in some of Dahyun’s photos. She even congratulated Dahyun when she was elected president, and she remembered Dahyun saying the same to her when she was assigned the captaincy. 

 

A few more posts down, she sees Dahyun’s photos from school events, and extracurriculars that they organized. There’s also a photo of them together, looking at each other and laughing at some joke maybe. This was probably taken during the leadership summits that they’re required to attend. It made her think on why they never got close back then until she remembers that her ex-girlfriend prohibited her from talking to other girls back then.

 

And for good reason, because considering everything, Dahyun is kinda cute. Nerdy, too-goody, but cute. Or maybe Sana was just looking at her features too much, getting lost in her IG account for some reason. 

 

She pushes those thoughts aside, much like how she collapsed the IG app window. It’s Monday tomorrow, she thinks, and for the first time in a while, she can’t figure out why she feels excited about it.

  


///

  


**@AtteridgeGossiper** 3m 

Something’s up and this new “couple” ain’t telling! 

 

 

> **@YerimSaysShit** 2m  
>  Something’s up and you say the same shit every weekend!   
>    
>  **@AtteridgeGossiper** 2m  
>  @YerimSaysShit Hey, you talk shit and you don’t see me complain!   
>    
>  **@JoyToTheWorld** 1m  
>  Here. Witnesseth thy murder. @BearSeulgi @Wendygogo  
>    
>  **@WillyWonkers** 1m  
>  Who is eeeeet? Let me guess, @ChewyChou and me?  
>    
>  **@ImImNayeon** 1m  
>  @ChewyChou loooooooool (rofl) (rofl)  
>    
>  **@Yardigan** 1m  
>  Obviously not @Minatozakimaru! That girl got her ass dumped! Hahaha!   
>    
>  **@JB96** 1m  
>  Is this Nancy and Yeonwoo? Because we know all about that! Tag Minatozaki! LOLOLOL

  


**@NewsFromDetention** 3m 

Here comes Monday, Crusaders! Pep Muster tomorrow because we need to feel we’re united when really, we just fucking hate each other! #CrusaderCharge

 

 

> **@angryhoneybadger** 3m   
>  Yaaaaas! Another year of @NewsFromDetention !!! #TheNewsITrust  
>    
>  **@NewsFromDetention**  1m  
>  Nothing says “You’re fucked” more than making us your primary source for everything!  
>    
>  **@capricaprisun** 1m  
>  (rofl) (rofl) (rofl)

 

 **@MomowoW** 14m

Shit, what day is it? #DrunkButNotDead

 

 

> **@PenguinMyoui** 11m  
>  It’s Friday!! (grin) (grin)

 

 **@JisoosTakeTheWheel** 56m

@JennieRuby @ItsRosieMate @Liissaa What do we do to make another party like that? Thanks Jennie!

 

 **@ImImNayeon** 1hr

(notes) (notes) (music) Just kiss me hard like you did at the start! Kiss me hard just like I'm breaking your heart~ (heart) (heart)

    

 

> **@PenguinMyoui** 1m  
>  What song is this? I can’t find it.  
>    
>  **@ChewyChou** 5m  
>  Damn, Nayeon. Did you just out-barista-hipstered a barista hipster? That’s a new low! #ObscureMusicChoices    

 

 **@AtteridgeHighStudentGovt** 2hr

Get to know your teams this season! See you at the Pep Muster tomorrow at the Arthur Yates Gymnasium! Refreshments will be served with performances from @RecessAbsentees #CrusaderCharge

 

 

> **@rxhyunsupreme** 1hr  
>  I went all in for @AtteridgeCrusaderFootball for an undefeated season! So if you lose one, I’m gonna starve for the rest of the year!  
>    
>  **@blurblabble** 1hr  
>  UN-DE-FEA-TED! @AtteridgeCrusaderFootball #CrusaderCharge  
>    
>  **@hippopotalamus** 2m  
>  @Minatozakimaru can like, you know, get it. #CrusaderCharge  
>    
>  **@peachbaby** 2m   
>  When does the @AtteridgePepBattalion come in? You know, so I’d know when to leave?  
>    
>  **@HannahCheer** 1m  
>  Boohoo :( enjoying your life as a snowflake loser @peachbaby ?

  


///

  


That night, Dahyun wakes up to the movement above her. She felt the weight on her bed shift, making her believe that she wasn’t alone. And it was quite strange when she wasn’t terrified at this, as if she knew what or who the unexpected visitor was in this Sunday night. 

 

She slowly opens her eyes and found Sana crawling up, hovering her face dangerously close to hers. So close that she could taste a mixture of warm breath and minty toothpaste. 

 

They never talked about seeing each other like this, but here she is, fluttering her eyes close when she felt Sana’s soft lips graze the corners of her jaw, her raven locks falling beautifully down the side of her face.

 

“My dad.” Dahyun moans in shaky breaths. “We can’t get caught like this.” 

 

Sana paid no heed. Instead, she separates Dahyun’s lips with the careful swipe of her tongue. Dahyun never surrendered easily until now, and she just lets Sana’s tongue slither in. Their lips crush in a tender kiss, with a bit of sucking and bit of nibbling. 

 

It’s almost like Sana knew that Dahyun wouldn’t be able to hold back, considering how she squirmed about, so Dahyun takes a mental note of this — that she cannot let Sana get away with making her feel things.

 

But those thoughts, the thoughts of making Sana pay, crumbled apart in lustful haze. Thinking is difficult when half drunk, but no one told her that wet and heavy opened mouthed kisses could turn your brain into mush. 

 

Static noise buzzed in her head, and she found herself clinging around Sana’s neck like she was holding on to the last remnants of her sanity. 

 

Their lips melt and sneaky tongues took turns on squirming and wrapping against each other. Dahyun had to come up for air, and while some kisses are surprising treats, all flavors are welcomed just the same.

 

“It’s not my fault that the window was unlocked.” Sana breaths into Dahyun’s grin. “Don’t worry, we’ll be careful.” 

 

Dahyun gasps sharply when fingers treacherously crawl up her inner thigh. 

 

“We’ll be so..” fingers goes up higher and excruciatingly slower.

 

“So..” and higher, that she felt a jolt of sensations trickle up her spine. Dahyun arches her back and she feels like she’s running out of air.

 

“So..” then it stops so close to her core, drawing ticklish circles that made her resolve so weak.

 

“So careful.” Sana hisses into Dahyun’s lips.

 

Dahyun knows what careful is. And she’s absolutely sure that it shouldn’t be making her this heated. So she continues to reply in kind, her hand sliding down to squeeze on Sana’s slender waist in hopes that she could release some of the pent up lust. 

 

But holy shit, every time Sana’s lips softly crush into hers, it makes her forget all of her simplest skills. And holy shit, she could only tilt her chin up to gasp for air, then the searing kisses and biting moves down to her neck. Sana’s hair smells just like how they first met, a hint of jasmine and roses. Dahyun wonders if she’d smell like this in the morning but she couldn’t bring herself to focus on the thought when Sana’s finger finally rubs on her throbbing sex. 

 

“Sana,” Dahyun moans, helpless against the pleasure. “My dad might wake up.” 

 

And as if she hasn’t received enough middle fingers from the Universe, faint but deliberate steps come closer at her bedroom door. Her heartbeat raises, and her senses go haywire.

 

“Sana!” She wraps her arms around Sana’s neck to stop her from pressing hot kisses on her neck. “Wait!” 

 

Her voice is shaky and raspy. Her legs are squirming together at every touch. Why should it end this way? Of all the times, why did her dad choose to come in at this moment?

 

“Dahyun?” A voice called from outside. A voice sounding awfully like the last person she’d want to walk in and see her having sex.

 

“Shit, Sana!”

 

But the quarterback wasn’t stopping, almost as if she herself was already consumed by the same temptations that Dahyun was pushing helplessly away. Sana strokes her harder, and it took the entirety of Dahyun to push Sana off of her. 

 

Knock knock.

 

“No, no, no, no no!” Dahyun mutters while Sana struggled to put her shirt on. 

 

“Dahyun?” Her dad turns the door knob. 

 

“Fuck!” Sana curses under breath, confused on why she had to wear a button down of all the days. If they weren’t caught last Saturday night, then this might be the moment that everything finally catches up to them. 

 

Dahyun shuts her eyes in hopes that it would just all go away. The image of her dad screaming in fear, an embarrassing goodbye with Sana, and the fact that she cannot look at her family in the eyes ever again.

 

“Dahyun!” The door finally swung open, and Dahyun felt like being reeled from drowning. 

 

She found herself looking up at the ceiling, in hitched breaths and pounding heartbeats. The sun was almost peeking behind the horizon, judging from the slightly dimmed hues of her room.

 

A dream. 

 

“Honey, it’s 6:40! Get up!” Her dad calls from the door and left. “You’re gonna be late for school!” 

 

“Fuck.” Right. School. Dahyun breathes. She turns to her bedside clock and sees red numbers 6, 4, and 0 screaming at her irresponsibility. Actually, it’s more of 6, 4, and 1 now. “Shit!” 

 

Starting the year late is not part of the plan. But starting it late, wet, hot, and bothered makes her want to slap herself so hard she’d sleep until the next day. She stomps briskly towards the bathroom, frustrated with the fact that she just had a frickin’ sex dream. And what’s worse is that she’s running late because she got carried away in a sex dream so deceptively vivid.

 

Why does Sana need to be so good? Why does she have to be so sexy? And does it have to be just a goddamn dream? Seriously, a dream?! 

 

She settles with a tucked-in plain white pique polo shirt paired with a short black skirt, then sets off quickly to grab her things. You have no luxury of dressing up when time is not on your side.

 

“Appa! Where’s the laundry from yesterday? I need my school jacket!” She runs down the stairs with thunderous steps and makes her way to the room where the laundry is getting sorted. While she rummaged through the pile of clothes, her dad calmly mixes some vegetables and rice with some gojuchang, sesame oil, and kimchi.

 

“Damn Pep Muster! And I’m running late because of a fucking jacket!” She mutters to herself as she made her way to the kitchen, trying to argue against the real reason why she’s late.

 

“Dahyun, eat this on the way. I’ll drive you.” Her dad hands her a small Tupperware bowl of bibimbap, together with a bottle of cold apple juice. 

 

“It’s fine. I can drive.” Dahyun reassures with a calm smile, taking the breakfast.

 

“No, I cannot risk you speeding through traffic.” Her dad changes to a worried expression, “It’s dangerous. Okay?” 

 

“Appa.” Dahyun sighs. “I can handle it, okay? I promise not to speed. Besides, we can’t both be late. One of us should at least make it on time for the sake of the Kim Family Honor.”

 

“It’s just that —”

 

“Appa. I’ll be fine.” Dahyun squeezes her dad’s shoulders a bit, and just lets him calm down. Dahyun grins and kisses her dad’s cheek. “I gotta go. The council is going to kill me!”

 

“If you ever get into a traffic problem, you’ll never be allowed to drive again. Understand?” 

 

“Gotcha!” Dahyun points at her dad with gun fingers. “Thanks for the breakfast!” 

 

And with that, Dahyun was off to redeem the Kim Family Honor.

  


///

  


“Good morning, everyone! Please be reminded that the Pep Muster will start at 3:30 PM. Everyone is required attend! All of our school teams are excited to meet all of you!

 

Also, the Old Library Wing will undergo renovations starting today. Please be advised that students are not allowed in that area. 

 

Have a great year, Crusaders!”

 

The intercom blasts marking the start of the first hour of Monday. Dahyun quickly weaves through the mass of people in the hallway who were either just hanging out or retrieving their things for their first classes. 

 

“Excuse me!” She smiles and presses on. “Excuse me! Sorry!” She ducks down to pass under a system wiring board of sorts that was being carried by AP Robotics kids. “Excuse me!”

 

Some of the students made way, especially those who were in the ‘normal castes’, but the jocks and other popular kids only looked at her from head to toe. Not that Dahyun is okay with it, but she’s pretty much used to it.

 

It’s not like they can touch her, anyway. Not when you’re considered as part of The System. She just smiles and looks away, not waiting for anyone of them to respond in any kind. She has always believed that diplomacy is key and unnecessary trouble is not to be courted. 

 

That is, until two girls came from behind her and deliberately bump her shoulders on both sides. Dahyun lunges forward a bit, making her clutch her breakfast closer her body. With her other hand, she catches the strap of her backpack when it hung on the inside of her elbow.

 

“Watch it.” a voice said.

 

Even with her hair covering half of her face, Dahyun could still clearly see how Nancy and Yeonwoo scowled at her as they passed by. 

 

Dahyun narrows her eyes but made no other move besides that. This was the first time she got this level of personal welcome from the head cheerleader, and they aren’t even through the first days of senior year. Nothing she can’t handle. But it’s also a good thing that Nancy never attended a Leadership Summit.

 

She straightens herself up and watched as the couple parted the crowd like they owned the place.

 

“You okay, chief?” Jeongyeon speaks from behind, her eyes watching the same couple that Dahyun was looking at. 

 

“I’m fine.” Dahyun brushes her hair back and taps Jeongyeon’s arm with the back of her hand. “Done with this morning’s briefing? Sorry, I’m late.” 

 

“No, not yet. We were waiting for you.” Jeongyeon walks down the hallway with Dahyun. They both made their way to the DMZ where the other members are most probably waiting. “What happened to you anyway? It’s not very in-character for Kim Dahyun to come in late. And in the first day of school at that.” 

 

“Just.. Just.. Things. I’m sorry.” Dahyun reasoned hoping that it would get Jeongyeon off her back. Having sex with Sana in her dreams is much more of a precise reason but no one has to know that. Hell, she’d die first before anyone knows that. “Band ready for later?” 

 

“We’re ready since yesterday.” Jeongyeon pushes the door and lets Dahyun in first. “Captain on the bridge!”

 

The students inside the room started to stand up but the president just waved her hand, telling everybody to settle down. 

 

“Jeongyeon, can you stop doing that?” Dahyun puts her things down her desk. 

 

“I can, but I won’t.” Jeongyeon shrugs. “Besides, it makes you look cooler than you are. Right, Minjoo? You can be her Spock, you know?” 

 

Minjoo beams and nods frantically in agreement. 

 

“Don’t encourage her.” Dahyun points a whiteboard marker at Minjoo. “She gets worse by the day whenever you give her attention. You are my vice president, Minjoo. Not hers.”

 

Minjoo shrinks, nodding a bit with a pained expression.

 

“Okay, let’s begin.” Dahyun started jotting down notes as she asked questions. “Minjoo, have we checked all preparations?”

 

“Yes. We only need to help set up the AV systems. Jongdae got the snacks covered. Jeongyeon and her band is ready to go. And Chaeyoung will oversee documentation for the school paper. We have the cameras ready for her.” the vice president enumerates. 

 

“That’s good.” Dahyun nods, “Chae, can you help Minjoo, Hyewon, and Chaeryeong with the AVs?” 

 

“You got it, chief!” Chaeyoung swivels off in her chair and pushes a thumbs up into the air. 

 

“Snacks will be delivered at 2PM. Already asked Miss Davies if I could be excused for a little while so I got that covered.” Jongdae pushes his glasses up his nose. 

 

“You’re perpetually excluded from AP Math, why do you need to get excused?” Jeongyeon opens Dahyun’s breakfast tupperware. 

 

“Just because I’m exempted from Math doesn’t mean that I can’t do AP Math.” 

 

“Dude.” Jeongyeon stops sniffing the bibimbap and pulls her head back so she could stare Jongdae right in his blasphemous face. “Why? Why are you doing this to yourself?” 

 

“Because I like math?” Jongdae shrugs.

 

It was at this moment where Jeongyeon left Dahyun’s breakfast alone. She formed her hands into a steeple, and inhales sharply with closed eyes to calm herself down.

 

Yoga. Or maybe yoga minus all the calm parts.

 

“You see, guys? This!” Jeongyeon looks around, pointing at Jongdae accusingly. “This is the reason why aliens don’t visit us. Advanced species spend their free times as times that are free, Kim Jongdae. Have you ever wondered why they have so much time visiting planets? Because they use free time discovering, not doing maths.” Jeongyeon spits between gritted teeth. To ease her frustration, she takes a whiff of Dahyun’s breakfast again because the smell of food is scientifically proven to calm a person down better than yoga.

 

“Aliens don’t exist mathematically, and two, you do maths during space travel or else —”

 

“Permission to kill the council secretary, Captain Kim?” Jeongyeon raises her hand as she shoved Dahyun breakfast against her white pique polo shirt that looks oh so fresh if you don’t get distracted by a two inches of red chilli paste stain close to the waist line. 

 

“Yoo Jeongyeon!” Dahyun’s scream echoes throughout the farthest reaches of the room. “I am going to kill you!” she tugs her shirt down by the hem, and she swears to the heavens that the Universe is out to get her. 

 

The entire room panics. Minjoo rummages in her bag for wipes while Chaeyoung held Dahyun down, making sure that Jeongyeon gets out of this meeting in one piece. Jongdae and Hyewon got some bottled water and a hand sanitizer, while Chaeryeong just stares at the commotion.

 

They’re not even in the second week of the school year and it would seem that they’ll be needing a new Editor-in-Chief for the Atteridge Gazette, and a new vocalist for the Recess Absentees.

  


///

  


Meanwhile, members of the Atteridge Football Team are scattered on the tables by the field. It’s a common hang out place for them since it’s near their lockers, and for most of the mornings, this is where the team congregate. 

 

Unlike Dahyun’s side of the school, this is one of the places that the nerds avoid even if it meant going around the junior high school wing. And for good reason. 

 

Just this morning, a certain paladin got the contents of his bag tossed into a trashcan. He could’ve rolled for a Shield of Faith if this was a Dungeons and Dragons game that he plays on Saturday nights, but no. This is the High School Jungle. And in this jungle, it’s Nancy’s caste who sits on top of the food chain, together with the other members of the athletics like Sana and the football team, who are more than content to brush off these events as a normal part of being in high school.

 

Sana was swiping about on her phone, Momo is eating a granola bar (most probably stolen from a team mate) and Jihyo was busy watching their teammates play catch on the field. Interestingly, they are scattered about in odd groupings, with Sana having her small group, the juniors sitting around Eunbi, and some stragglers like the junior quarterback.

 

“Hey, Momo.” Sana asks with her eyes glued to her phone. “Do you have friends in the Council?” 

 

“I knew it.” Momo chooses to answer with an accusation rather than be helpful.

 

“What?” 

 

“This is about Dahyun, isn’t?” Momo asks suspiciously.

 

“Yeah?” Sana narrows here eyes. “This is about Dahyun. What are you hyping on about?”

 

“What’s with you and the president? I mean, I told you all about getting even but don’t you think there are other better options?” Momo winces and holds her shrug. Jihyo just stares at her with a raised brow and Momo just mouthed a What? at her direction.

 

“Options for what?” Sana asks, equally taken aback like Jihyo.

 

“Getting laid!” Momo says like it was the most obvious thing.

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” 

 

“So you’re telling me that you guys disappeared last Saturday and you did not even get it on with her?” Momo bites off the last of the granola bar, only to feel a bit more frustrated because she finished it in three bites. 

 

“Why do you always say the dumbest things?” Sana frowns and shakes her head. Momo just shrugs at this, licking off from the wrapper. It’s too early to deal with Momo, so Sana turns to her other teammate to save her patience. “Jihyo, you got connections in the Council?” 

 

“Nah. But I think Yujin has. I think she mentioned last year that she has a friend there. Remember late practices?” Jihyo looks over at Sana for a while before turning to the other quarterback sitting alone on the other table. “Hey, Beast.” 

 

“Hm?” Yujin tilts her head up a bit, just enough for them to see her eyes under her baseball cap. It was just a weekend after the keg stands and she’s slowly realizing that her new name is catching up.

 

“What the hell are you doing there alone? Come here and sit with us.” Jihyo nods to signal her to transfer to their table. Yujin rubs the back of her neck, but reluctantly complies. She takes the spot right beside the senior quarterback who taps her shoulder in greeting.  

 

“You have friends in the Council right?” Jihyo asks. 

 

“Yeah.” She smiles a bit, and it's more than what she could afford that day. “Is there anything I could help with, Cap?” 

  


“Yeah, Cap.” Momo says mockingly, nudging Sana’s shoulder “Is there anything that the Beast could help you with? And don’t waste her time, Sana. The Beast ain’t got time for excuses.” 

 

“I just need Dahyun’s number.” Sana rolls her eye, because damn it, she’s asking someone for something that she could easily get in a normal day, but then again, Dahyun ain’t just some random person anymore. “It’s something urgent.” 

 

“Damn, Sana! We aren’t even at first period and you’re going off all horny and shit!” Momo howls. 

 

“Momo, I swear to god.” Sana threatens, eyes still on the phone.

 

“Uhm, okay?” Yujin fishes her phone out from her pocket and begins to type. “I think I could help with that.”

 

**[Ahn Yujin]**

Juju, do you have Dahyun’s number? Cap wants it. 

 

**[Kim Minjoo]**

Oh, okay. Wow. They’re a thing? (wonder)

 

**[Ahn Yujin]**

Nah. Don’t think so. 

 

**[Kim Minjoo]**

Strange. 

I know I heard it from somewhere. 

Anyway, here you go.

Also, don’t forget extra lunch!

 

**[Ahn Yujin]**

I won’t! Thank you, Juju. :D

I mean, for the number.

And the lunch. :) 

 

**[Kim Minjoo]**

Haha! Don’t mention it! xo

 

“Got it, Cap.” Yujin puts her hand out to take Sana’s phone, then she punched the numbers for the captain. 

 

“Yes!” Sana cheers silently when she got her phone back. “That was fast. Good job!” then Sana was back to whatever she was doing with her phone, which is juggling between which messenger app would make her less creepy. “Message. Message. Message. Here we go. Text is good.”

 

“What are you going to say?” Momo crumples the wrapper of her granola bar and throws it into a trash can some meters away. “Hi, Dahyun! It’s me, Sana. We got approximately fifteen minutes before first period. Go down on me? Don’t worry, I finish fast.” 

 

“Why are you an asshole, Hirai?” Sana shakes her head in displeasure.

 

“Ooh, that is a super legit question.” Jihyo laughs and holds up her hand, waiting for Sana to high five it. Until Momo licks Jihyo’s palm. “What the fuck? Are you high?!”

 

“Who’s your friend in the Council, Yujin?” Momo completely ignores Jihyo (and Jihyo retaliates by wiping her palm on Momo’s jeans).

 

“Hm?” There was a wry expression on Yujin’s face. Then, when she realized that Momo is not gonna let her off without an answer, she sighs and just mumbles. “Is it important to know who?” 

 

“Okay, wow. Hold it there, Beast. I was just asking. It’s not like we have twenty people in the Council to keep it a secret.” Momo reasons.

 

“Leave Yujin to her business.” Sana says, finally putting her phone back in her pants pocket. It was only then that Yujin noticed Sana was the only athlete not wearing today’s uniform. Just a plain white shirt and jeans. 

 

“Why the hell would I leave it alone if we can bet on it!” Momo suggests, and let it be known that Momo is a god when it comes to stupid ideas. “I raise five dollars! It’s Hyewon! The girl who loves eating cake. No, seriously guys, she’s eating cake every five minutes. It’s insane.” 

 

“I am not gonna play this game.” Jihyo stands up and tucks her hands into her letterman pockets. “You all good, Sana?” 

 

“Yeah. Round up the team and tell them to head to class.” Sana gets off the table. “Gonna get my ass in trouble again if someone cuts or ends up late.” 

 

“You are no fun at all, Sana. No fun.” Momo throws an arm over Jihyo and points at Yujin. “Don’t worry, Beast. I’m not gonna hound on who you’re seeing in the Council. But know this, getting in on them is bad for image.”

 

“Oh, wow. Because your image is worth saving.” Sana walks past the two with Yujin walking right beside her. “Don’t listen to her, Beast.” 

 

Yujin just smiles a bit, but it was enough to make her dimples show. She never really hangs out with the team unless she needs to but these small inclusions aren’t so bad. 

 

“Aren’t we required to wear our lettermans today, Cap? You know, Pep Muster?” Yujin says when she noticed that Sana is the only one wearing a shirt, tucking her hands inside her jacket pockets.

 

“Yeah. About that.” Sana’s voice trailed off.

  


///

  


“Shit!” Dahyun curses. “What is it with this day?” 

 

She tried to wipe off the stain but she only succeeded in making it into an annoying orange smudge.

 

Her phone lights up from a message. An unknown number. Dahyun just spared it a quick glance then she went on to salvage whatever she can from her get up. When it proved to be futile and first period coming in soon, she just wears her letterman over her clothes and would most likely be doing so until the day ends. 

 

The bell rings and she makes her way to class. 

 

Behind her, two students stared at her and began talking softly amongst themselves. The other one aimed her phone at Dahyun then took a quick snap. 

  


///

  


Life has a funny way of putting things in place. Twice the fun when you realize that turning points are born out of the littlest nuances. Small and seemingly random events that culminate into a life changing moment.. 

 

If Kim Dahyun, a girl who seemed to have her affairs in order, were to trace back on how she was led to this fucked up moment (and the days to come), she would definitely blame first period Literature. And it is worth noting that first period Literature was as mundane as it gets. A cross between intelligible old English words and static noise serving as the background music for this momentous event.

 

She could vividly remember what happened that day, a Monday when she was late because of reasons she can’t share. A Monday where she swore Jeongyeon ruined her pique polo shirt and that this is the last day that she’d be able to wear it ever. 

 

A Monday where they started on time, Dahyun remembers, because she got in just as everyone was struggling to find their seats. Jeongyeon sat on the third to the last row, followed by Dahyun, then followed by Chaeyoung who chose to sit at the back. All three of them in one column. 

 

Shakespeare was their topic then. Shakespeare and his plays, to be more exact. Dahyun knows because she checked the syllabus even before the year started and Miss Munn confirmed it as they began to get deeper into the topic of love or tragedy or whatever. 

 

Jeongyeon was just listening with her chin resting on her palm. Chaeyoung is most probably doodling. Some were taking notes, while the others were following the discussion through the powerpoint being flashed on the screen. They were touching on the Twelfth Night now as an example of a messy romantic comedy, and Dahyun began to get comfortable as the day was getting back on track.

 

Then, in the least expected moment, everything culminates.

 

It begins with Jisoo, who was two seats away from her. Dahyun’s peripheral caught Jisoo looking down at her phone, then quickly leaning forward so she could hide behind Rose. Dahyun looks at her direction and sees her frantically swiping up her phone. 

 

Then, it was followed by Wendy, who carefully pulls her phone out and hides it under her table. She frowns, then her eyes widen, then she looked around before settling her sights on the president. There was a eureka moment in her eyes, and it made Dahyun a bit nervous. 

 

She breaks off her gaze and discreetly looked around, only to find three more people looking at her, and Rose now whispering something to Jisoo. 

 

Miss Munn was still oblivious in what was happening. She even started discussing other romantic comedies now, while Dahyun was wishing that this event has nothing to do with her. 

 

“Dahyun!” 

 

Dahyun felt someone kick her chair. She wanted to look over her shoulder but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. There’s a hundred and million thoughts running in her head and if Chaeyoung wanted to be acknowledged, then there’s no doubt that what’s happening is all about Dahyun.

 

Chaeyoung leans in closer and whispers between gritted teeth. “Look at your goddamn phone!” 

 

At the same time, Jeongyeon pretends to look down on her notes, but she turns to Dahyun ever so subtly. She nods at the president, begging her to listen to Chaeyoung. 

 

That’s not good.

 

A vote of two against one and Dahyun will always respect democracy. She takes a deep breath and presses her lips together. She didn’t know what she was bracing for but when Miss Munn turned around, she pulled her phone out and looked at the post that she was tagged in.

 

“No.” Dahyun’s eyes widen. “No, no, no.” 

 

She lifts her head up and now, almost half of the people in the room are quietly talking about her. 

 

“No.” 

  


///

  


**[ _(song cue - click on this!)_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAn3JdtSrnY) **

 

 **@AtteridgeGossiper** 4m 

I told you something’s up with this new couple. Who would’ve thought the Leadership Summit can bring us something this juicy? 

 

The tweet came with a photo  taken from behind. It was Dahyun. She’s walking. This morning. On her way to first period. Wearing a letterman jacket with MINATOZAKI on the back.

  


///

  


“As Shakespeare once said, the course of true love never did run smooth.” Miss Munn said as Dahyun closes the door behind her ever so carefully. But by the second she heard the door click, she picked up her feet and ran as fast as she could.

 

Everything felt like the last few minutes of a TV show, all shown in slow motion, because shit this isn’t happening in real life right now! Her steps echoed, her hair flew with the wind, and her heart was trying to pound its way out of her chest. There’s no way in hell that her day has just turned from “annoying” to flat out “Watergate”. 

 

It was so crazy that this takes a solid spot next to the Dancing Plague of 1518 (This is a true story, check it out) and they’re not even finished with first period yet!

 

As she made her way to the council room, her mind plays back all of the things that lead her to this exact moment. 

 

Bill Rosentahl’s bar mitzvah. Leadership Summit. A ball gone rogue. Toppling over a ladder. A party. Half nakedness and morning weather. Being late (for reasons that cannot be brought up ever again). Bibimbap breakfast. Jeongyeon’s tussle with Jongdae. And First period Literature.

 

All small nuances. All seemingly isolated events. 

 

All roads that lead home.  

 

///

  


**[Unknown Number]** 7:12 AM

Dahyun! Sorry, I got your number from Yujin’s friend. 

We switched jackets. Are you available to meet up and switch?

 

 **[Kim Dahyun]** 8:01 AM

Please tell me this is Sana.

 

 **[Unknown Number]** 8:01 AM

You saw, didn’t you?

 

 **[Kim Dahyun]** 8:02 AM

Meet me at the council office.

I don’t care how but it has to be now.

 

 **[Minatozaki Sana]** 8:02 AM

Wait, are you mad?

 

 **[Kim Dahyun]** 8:02 AM

NOW! 

  
  


*********

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Today song: Archie, Marry Me by Alvvays
> 
> Q: How many chapters are we expecting? :)  
> A: I will not tell! You can bribe me all you want but I will not tell!
> 
> Q: I wonder what happened to them. Did they like sleep sleep together??  
> A: You have to read to find out! 
> 
> Q: Do you have a playlist for this?  
> A: We are currently building it but expect a song for every chapter! 
> 
> Thank you so much again to Tokyobee for making sure we are doing things the right way! Or at least as right as we can make them (come on! No more em dash!)! It's quite strange world building this fic but it's fun(ny) at the same time. Hang in there, peeps! I'm not sure where we'll take us but buckle up for the ride!


	4. The Guide to the Infinite Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no turning back when a sudden announcement was made! And maybe people won't be getting along as much as Dahyun hoped.
> 
> Attention: (song cue) contains a link to a song that you should listen to at a specific time while reading! :)

**The Guide to the Infinite Year**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

 

_“... and secondly it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover.” - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, (Douglas Adams)_

  


///

  


“Miss Munn,” Dahyun raises her hand. 

 

She could feel everyone’s eyes on her and she knows that they know why she suddenly had to interrupt the class politely. 

 

“Yes, Dahyun?” 

 

“I have to convene my council. I’m really really sorry. It’s an emergency about the Pep Muster.” 

 

“Well, I hope it’s not anything bad.” Miss Munn tried to smile despite the genuine concern. “Come back soon.”

 

“Yes, Miss Munn. Thank you!” 

 

Act cool. Act cool. Act cool. 

 

Dahyun stands up, and in the absolute silence that followed, the echo of a clatter slices through the room. Jeongyeon winces and Chaeyoung’s jaw drops at the sight of Dahyun’s phone on the floor. It was faced up that everyone in a one meter radius saw who she was texting.

 

 **[Unknown Number]** 7:12 AM

Dahyun! Sorry, I got your number from Yujin’s friend. 

We switched jackets. Are you available to 

 

 **[Kim Dahyun]** 8:01 AM

Please tell me this is Sana.

 

 **[Unknown Number]** 8:01 AM

You saw, didn’t you?

 

 **[Kim Dahyun]** 8:02 AM

Meet me at the council office.

I don’t care how but it has to be now.

 

 **[Minatozaki Sana]** 8:02 AM

Wait, are you mad?

 

 **[Kim Dahyun]** 8:02 AM

NOW! 

 

Dahyun quickly snatches her phone and hurriedly walks all the way to the front. 

 

In the middle of answering the question ‘Why does Chaeyoung always choose to sit at the back?’, she could feel everyone’s eyes burning right through her soul. As the president, she is not a stranger to attention. But when you know the reason why everyone is looking, the place becomes too claustrophobic too quickly.

 

“Now, he also had romantic comedies like the Twelfth Night and Midsummer Night’s Dream. Quintessential works where we got some of the famous lines..” Miss Munn continues and Dahyun quickly responds Really? Romantic comedies? Right now? in her head. 

 

“As Shakespeare once said, the course of true love never did run smooth.” Miss Munn said as Dahyun closes the door, and it made her conclude that the universe is speaking through her Literature lessons for the day.

She ran all the way to the council room, quietly thanking the universe for empty hallways and closed doors. But what she can’t thank the universe for is Sana. 

 

Sana who appears out from the corner of the hallway, running towards her like she’s watching a sports commercial. Her tousled raven black hair, her sparkling hazel eyes, and her supple parted lips are more than enough to remind her of a dream she had. 

 

The day has been hard on her and she doesn’t really need for things to be much more difficult than it already is.

 

Do you really have to look this beautiful when you run? Dahyun thinks. 

 

“What?” 

 

Dahyun froze, her eyes widening at the realization that she might have thought too loud.

 

“I-I-I said, d-d-do you really have to run?” 

 

Wow. Real smooth, Dahyun.

 

“You told me in all-caps ‘NOW’. Usually, that kind of ‘now’ means this instance.” Sana said half catching her breath as she combs her hair back with her fingers. Oh, the visual pleasure of Sana and her breathing. Dahyun wished Sana hadn’t done that. “Why? What’s wrong? Should I not run?” 

 

“Just don’t run like that in the hallways. It’s dangerous.” Dahyun ended with a lousy reprimand, reminding herself to slap her own face once the day is done.

 

“You used all caps, Dahyun.” Sana reasoned back.

 

“Just get in.” Dahyun’s brows furrowed, then she jams the key into the knob. She was the first one to step in, then when Sana joined her, Dahyun looked around the hallway before closing the door.

 

“Me, you, in a room where anyone can come in isn’t really the best idea here.” Sana said, but before she could take a seat, Dahyun taps her shoulder and points at the window.

 

“We’re not talking here. Get out that window.” 

 

“Really, Dahyun? Another day, another window? I must say, we are really getting good at this.”  

 

“Now.” Dahyun opens the window and gestures for Sana to get onto the other side. 

 

“Is that in all-caps? I can’t tell.” Sana pauses midway into climbing out. Dahyun just bites her lip and raises an eyebrow, settling on non verbals to feign annoyance.  “Yeap, that’s an all caps kind of now.” Sana agrees then climbs out.

 

They made their way up through an old fire exit that’s not visible from anywhere in school. Dahyun discovered this last year when she got trapped in the old library wing, which is ironic since they both found themselves inside the supposedly closed part of the school. 

 

The place hasn’t changed much except that all the bookcases are covered with white opaque plastic sheets like every book is riddled with some sort of disease. Some parts of the ceiling are also supported by metal scaffolding and pieces of furniture were moved into parts where dust and debris won’t reach them. It’s obvious that a bit of work has started in the old library wing, but it’s also pretty quiet.

 

“You sure no one would just barge in?” Sana peeked around a bookshelf. When she was sure that no one was around, she pressed her back against the bookshelf opposite Dahyun. 

 

“No. That door is chained from the outside. They’ll start working around Autumn Break.” Dahyun unzipped and took her (see: Sana’s) jacket off. “Now, I want an honest answer, Sana. Did you tell anyone about that night?” 

 

“Hey!” Sana quickly points at Dahyun accusingly. “It was your picture on that tweet! If anything, I should be the one asking you on how they caught a wind of this!” 

 

“I was wearing your jacket!” Dahyun raises the jacket she was holding. 

 

“Which you should’ve checked!” 

 

“Why didn’t you check yours?” Dahyun accuses back.

 

“I texted you, remember?” Sana cocks her hips and folds her arms under her chest. She did text, and yes, Dahyun didn’t reply. “Why did you not check yours?” 

 

“I was drunk, then our machine acted up so I had to bring it to the laundromat, then I was late today so I snatched it without checking..” Dahyun’s voice trailed slower when she realized how the events connected her to the crime. “.. then I wore it because my stupid friend thought my shirt is a good canvas for chilli paste art. Fuck!”

 

“So technically, President Kim, this is your fault.” Sana smirks.

 

“Wait, what? No! This is just a misunderstanding!” Dahyun defended. “We’ll clear it out with them and negotiate. Maybe they can take the post down.”

 

“Fine,” the quarterback sighs. “We’ll just file a formal report then have our friends sign as witnesses.”  

 

“You can do that?” Dahyun perks up at Sana’s suggestion.

 

“No!” Sana throws her hands up in surrender. She can’t even begin to understand how Dahyun came up with that question. “Of course you can’t do that! The high school jungle isn’t an institution! That’s not how you get off the hook! There’s no office where you can file complaints or ask people to stay out of your business!” 

 

Dahyun deflates, sinking down the floor until she was sitting on her calves. She presses the soles of her palms against her forehead and felt her brain fuzz out. She has always been a subscriber to gossip but never the topic. It worked out for her that way, so when she finds herself in the middle of a scandal, she can’t even think shit on what to do next.

 

“Dahyun,” Sana gets down on both knees and to Dahyun’s level. “Remember, the next question they’re going to ask is, how the hell did we even switch jackets? You know the answer to that, right?” 

 

“We tell them we switched during the party.” 

 

“We wore our jackets correctly the whole night, until.. you know.” 

 

“Shit.” Dahyun takes in a deep breath and tilts her head up. “Am I still in a dream, because damn, I am so ready to wake up.” 

 

Sana just snaps her fingers right in front of Dahyun’s face to get her back into the conversation. 

 

“I have an idea.” 

 

“What?” 

 

“Let’s do it.” 

 

“Let’s do what?” Dahyun sighs.

 

“Be a couple.” Sana puts her arms out like she made the best point. 

 

“What?” Dahyun’s face contorts, begging to disagree. 

 

“Look, you can make an issue a non-issue if you treat it as a non-issue. We kill the hype with a ‘Yeah, so what?’ then it’ll be out of your hair once a new hot topic comes up.” Sana explains. The idea is not entirely stupid but Dahyun wanted to explore other choices. “You get this off your back in a couple of months. I make my ex jealous. We separate ways after the season, then we’re off to graduation.”

 

“Wait, why do we need to do this until the football season is done?” 

 

“Do you really wanna be blamed if the quarterback loses a game because of a broken heart?” Sana narrows her eyes and wiggles her finger in front of Dahyun.

 

“Hm.” Dahyun forces out a laugh, her shoulders jerking up. “You thought about this already, haven’t you.”

 

“No, but if you have to ask, yes. I put it all together when we were climbing up the fire escape.”

 

“Weird flex, but okay.” Dahyun raises her brows and looks away. 

 

“Nothing to lose, so much to gain!” Sana presses on. “Think about it. This is your one stop solution to everything. The party, the jackets, the rumors.”

 

“Why?” Dahyun drops her hands limply over her lap and looks up to the ceiling with closed eyes. “Why is this happening?” 

 

“Hey, is being with me that bad?” Sana frowns with Dahyun noticing she hit a string. 

 

“No!” Dahyun manages to say, but Sana is already making her way to where they came from. 

 

“I’ll just give you some time to think.” She climbs out of the window but peeks inside again to remind Dahyun. “I can’t miss Physics. You have my number and you know where to find me.”

 

Dahyun shouldn’t feel bothered, but the sudden blandness of Sana’s voice was hard to miss. She listened for Sana’s steps on the metal stairs but it didn’t take long before she felt alone. It didn’t help that for the first time after a long time, she didn’t have the solution to a problem.

  


///

  


When lunch time rolled in, Dahyun and her friends decided to spend a couple of minutes behind closed doors.

 

“Chae, close the door.” Jeongyeon orders the youngest, as all of them steps inside the DMZ. 

 

With just the three of them barricading in, Dahyun knew exactly why they had to detour here instead of lunch. The urge to runaway from them has never been so strong until now, and the feeling was only made worse when she hears Chaeyoung lock the door. 

 

Jeongyeon takes her usual seat and Chaeyoung settles on the blue leather couch at the other end of the room. The common area isn’t as big so there’s no real way Dahyun could hide from all of this. 

 

“So?” Jeongyeon began.

 

“Okay, let me start off by saying that, holy shit, this is not what it looks like.” Dahyun defends her guilt. 

 

“So what is this?” Chaeyoung asks without letting a beat pass.

 

~

 

“You just have to ask, huh?” Sana shoves a couple of books back into her locker and grabs some required readings after lunch. She didn’t pay much attention to Momo and Jihyo who were flanking her on both sides, looking at her in a mix of amusement, amazement, and fear. 

 

“Stop dodging the damn question!” Jihyo hisses between gritted teeth. Sana responds by closing her locker, and leaning her shoulder against it. There was a smug smile on Sana’s face that Jihyo wanted to wipe out so badly. This wordless reply on important questions has always been a habit of the quarterback but that doesn’t mean Jihyo and Momo got used it. “I swear to god, Sana!”  


“Whatever’s between me and Dahyun stays with me and Dahyun. It’s that simple.”

 

“Not buying that bullcrap.” Momo eases herself off the lockers as the two begin walking towards the cafeteria. 

 

“Not asking you to buy it. I’m asking you to respect it.” Sana spins on her heels then walks backward for a couple of steps. “Come on, thought you wanted this for me.” 

 

“Don’t play that with me!” Momo tucks in her hands in her jacket pockets then stomps her way to front of the posse. “Dude, you don’t even know Dahyun’s number until like four hours ago.” 

 

“So you don’t believe me?” Sana stops walking.

 

~

 

“Well, she is the Minatozaki Sana. I find it hard to believe.” Jeongyeon shrugs. Dahyun’s jaw drops as she placed her hand over her heart for dramatic offense. And coming from someone who forced her to wear the jacket, Jeongyeon should have no business disrespecting her.

 

“I am actually offended! So what are you saying? That she’s out of my league?” Dahyun puts her hands out. 

 

“Well, she is the Minatozaki Sana.” Chaeyoung repeats. 

 

“Shut up, Chae! I got it the first time!” Dahyun spits. “And it’s not like this is anything serious. She needs me to make her ex jealous and I just need this scandal to blow over.” 

 

“That explains the party, your disappearance, and the jacket.” Jeongyeon enumerates, ultimately dismissing the brewing questions that would’ve followed. “Damn, you’re really out there making this last year count! Attagirl!” 

 

“It’s really not a big deal, you guys.” Dahyun then switches her strategy to just sweeping the entire thing under the rug. 

 

“Not a big deal? Are you kidding me?” Jeongyeon laughs in disbelief. “Kim Dahyun, Student Council President, is dating the school’s football captain slash star quarterback. Holy fuck, then you’ll go on long drives, and movies, and dinners. Not to mention that you have an actual date for the prom! Dahyun!” her voice shakes in excitement. “You finally have a life!” 

 

Dahyun didn’t know exactly why, but the thought of Jeongyeon’s words made her smile a bit. Maybe a little bit too much when she noticed Chaeyoung tilt her head in pure skepticism. It never sat well with Dahyun — Chaeyoung being all suspicious and that. 

 

Chances are, she’ll be asking more implicating questions and the last thing Dahyun wants is to blow this out of proportion.

 

“Guys, can we do this another time? It’s lunch and the Muster is in three hours.” Dahyun complains. She pulls her phone out and sends a quick text. 

 

“But, Dahyun.” Chaeyoung presses on, much to Dahyun’s worry. “You dating the football captain slash star quarterback slash Nancy’s ex slash the hottest girl in campus isn’t really waiting for the storm to blow over. That’s like the opposite of what you want to happen. Are you sure about this?”

 

~

 

“Yes, I am sure about this! You’re the one who told me about moving on, Momo.” Sana says as she smiles and nods at Lisa’s group. 

 

They stopped talking altogether and Sana knows exactly what they’re on about. Hell, she could even hear her and Dahyun’s name from every small pockets of conversation they passed by. 

 

“Yes, I know but —”

 

“But what?” Sana beats her to the punch. “Because she’s Dahyun and I’m Sana?” 

 

“No, it’s not that.” Momo sighs, thinks for a quick second, then backtracks. “Okay, fine. It might be about that.” 

 

“No, I get what you mean.” Sana turns to her friend. “And this is exactly why I never told you.” 

 

Sana hated accusing someone for something they didn’t mean and manipulating someone’s opinion in favor of her narrative (Which she just thought of doing just now, by the way. Weird flex, but okay.) but it was so convenient that it’s almost a sin if she didn’t pounce on the opportunity. 

 

“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just.. I don’t know, complicated?” Momo reasons. And she is right. 

 

But through all of the doubts and the skepticism, Sana was surprised on how honest she was with her next words. Thinking about the last couple of days, plus the summit, she never really expected that she’d get along with Dahyun that well. So even if she’s half fumbling through this lying spree, she finds words that still ring truth.

 

“She’ll surprise you.” Sana assures as she took her phone out. “She’s actually pretty fun to be with.” 

 

Jihyo and Momo let out a collective sigh to admit their defeat. Sana isn’t being cooperative and most likely will continue to do so, most especially now that she had this big smile on her face when she pulled out her phone. 

 

“Let me guess.” Jihyo begins. 

 

“Yup, it’s my girl.” Sana smiles cheekily. “Lunch, shall we?” 

 

~

 

There are times when you have to cross the bridge when you get there, and maybe the next set of answers are waiting on the other side, but who knows? At this point in the day, 90% of the student body are full aware of the tweet. That’s also counting the people who are absent today for various reasons and also the sophomores and the juniors.

 

It made the walls close in on Dahyun faster than she could push back. If she says no, then she’d also be forced to make excuses that could get her into more trouble. 

 

If she says yes, then maybe — just maybe — she’ll get something out of this. 

 

You finally have a life!

 

So much for finishing the year unscathed. Not that it was her plan from the very beginning. 

 

“Chae.” Dahyun takes a deep breath. “I have to tell you guys something. This basically holds me accountable to anything and everything. But first, I have to take care of business.”

 

She pulls out her phone and types in a quick message.

 

 **[Kim Dahyun]** 12:15 PM

Fine. Let’s do it.

BUT WE KEEP IT DISCREET!

  


///

  


Drums pound in quick loud beats and flyers tumble mid-air for a full acrobatic spectacle. At the same time, representatives of the sports teams are teaching the crowd on how to cheer for the season. The gymnasium is packed with so much scholastic energy, it could very much cheer for the other schools too. The season hasn’t started yet and this isn’t even a pep rally.

 

It’s just a Pep Muster, where the school teams are introduced and where the students are given the chance to sign up for their clubs. But boy was it like a formal kick off for the year.

 

Dahyun watches the entire scene from the techs and lights mezzanine, an area connected to the second level bleachers, overlooking the entire revelry. She wants to be happy on how the entire event turned out but the thoughts of Sana and the deal made it difficult to celebrate. 

 

“Cap,” Dahyun leans her head closer to the source of the sound while she watched the event. 

 

“Pep is almost done. We’re bumping the Recess Absentees half an hour early, then we got the club sign ups. We are almost there.” Minjoo says in a giggly voice, quite excited that she’s finishing her first event for the year. 

 

“That’s good.” Dahyun smiles. “Just don’t leave Jongdae in the snacks area. And Hyewon! They’ll finish it up before we could even feed half of the students here.” 

 

“On it, cap!” Minjoo gives her a quick salute, then they both watch the cheerleaders and the athletes ease down the crowd. On the other side of the stage, Dahyun gives a quick nod to the Recess Absentees, a band Jeongyeon formed two summers ago when she had nothing better to do. Now, with seven or so original (really really good) songs and a new cute drummer, they became the coolest nerds this side of town. 

 

As the athletes go down the stage, Jeongyeon, the vocalist, leads the march. Meanwhile, Jieun, the guitarist, tests the amps. People actually thought she was mute — turns out, she just doesn’t like talking to people too much (which is a valid excuse). Ryujin, bassist, tunes in her bass, but stops midway when she waved for the last member to come in. Yuna jogs in, still in her marching band uniform and matching pleated skirt. She takes her seat behind the drum kit, stomping on her pedals to check the sounds. Jeongyeon recruited her during the marching band tryouts when an informant told her about the transferee. 

 

“Well, Minjoo.” Dahyun sighs in relief, and turns her back to the view. “Jeongyeon and her band can take it from here. Let’s just go around and make sure the club sign ups go smoothly.” 

 

“Okay, but..” Minjoo’s voice trails softer. “Captain, isn’t that your girlfriend with the mic on stage?” 

 

“Girlfriend?” Dahyun scoffs at the farfetched accusation, “Where did you even — Holy shit!” Dahyun quickly turns and sees Sana on stage together with some of the team representatives. “No. No, no, no. Minjoo, pull her out now! That’s not part of the program!” 

 

Minjoo quickly leaves but Dahyun knows she won’t make it. Minjoo will have to run across the other end of the crowded court and Sana looks like she’s about to speak. Dahyun doesn’t know what’s running in the quarterback’s head but she’s pretty sure that she’s about to set the crowd ablaze. 

 

Then, it happened. 

 

She saw Sana’s brows furrow, her eyes narrowing as if honing on a target. She wasn’t looking up and towards Dahyun, so the president knew that the message won’t be for her. 

 

“Thank you so much for your support, Atteridge!” Sana begins and the crowd roars. Pure star power. Or star quarterback power. 

 

“But let’s also thank the people who made this event possible, Fellow students,” the drums pounded and the crowds cheered. “Fellow members of the school teams,” the drums pounded even louder together with the cheers. “And of course, our very own Student Council, lead by my girlfriend, President Kim.” 

 

And shit, Dahyun swore the windows behind almost exploded when the drums were in full war mode. The crowd screamed their hearts out, and it was at that moment that Dahyun knew she fucked up.

 

No wonder the whole event was doing great. All things considered, she believes that the universe is out to get her today.

 

She just stood there, shocked and helpless, taking in all the eyes that she could take because that’s the only thing she could do. Her heart was pounding so hard. If it was just her or the drums, she can’t tell. 

 

“Joining us this afternoon to blow up our Monday, give it up for the Recess Absentees!”

 

[ _**(song cue)** _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvTKiz_Sbqk)

 

Jeongyeon and Jieun jumps and hits the riff when they landed. Yuna hits the drums, and Ryujin bites her lips when the smooth bass tabs held the sounds together. Sana jumps off the stage and meandered her way through the growing crowd. 

 

There were a lot of people who were asking things to her face, which she only replied with a smile, a slight nod, or laughter. Her teammates were giving her pats on the shoulder as she forced her way through them.

 

But not everyone was hyped with her stunt, because standing at the other side of the court was another girl in her lettermans, looking at her in a way a lion looks at a gazelle. Dahyun watched the girl walk towards her and it didn’t take too long before Sana was just a couple of steps from her. Dahyun could already taste her rage crawl up from her throat.

 

_You're a wave of a dream_

_Your love is clean_

 

“What the fucking hell were you thinking?” Dahyun hisses to the girl walking over to her, ready to give her a beating of words. But Sana quickly replies by wrapping an arm around Dahyun’s waist and pulling her close that she could feel the president’s hips against hers. Dahyun suddenly forgot how to be angry for some reason and she blames musk, cotton bloom, and citrus.

 

“First of all, I am so sorry for the announcement. Just can’t risk you walking away from this.” Sana breathes into Dahyun’s ears, and she wishes that Sana stops half making out with her earlobe! “Second of all, as a gesture of my undying love and devotion for you, you get to call the terms.” 

 

“Oh, count on it, Minatozaki. I’m gonna terms and conditions your ass so bad you’d wish you hadn’t cornered me.” Dahyun whispers between her pretend smile, because she could see people watching them, hiding their gossip behind their hands. 

 

“Can’t wait to check the box where it says I accept and agree.” Sana coos into Dahyun’s ear, warm breath grazing lightly on her skin. It will take so much for the president to stop her knees from buckling and something tells her that Sana won’t make it easy for her. “So it’s set then?”

 

_You're a wave of a dream_

_Your love is clean_

 

“My house, Saturday. Don’t be late.” Dahyun leans close. Way to close that Sana felt her heart catch inside her ribs. Dahyun’s gaze dives into hazel orbs, then she squints her eyes. “I don’t like people who make other people wait.”

 

“I like it when you’re this pushy.” Sana smirks, and Dahyun felt her cheeks burn in all the shades of red. But before she could get herself together, Sana’s lips graze lightly on her skin. “And there’s one more thing.” 

 

_Just kiss me hard like you did at the start_

 

There are times when one can get so overwhelmed by events that it literally shuts their brains out. It happened to Dahyun once, but never in a form of a gentle kiss on the corner of her lips. It was quick, she remembers, but the warmth lingered on her skin like the kiss never left.

 

Kiss me hard just like I'm breaking your heart

 

For the first time after a long time, the lights in her brain went out just like that.

  


///

  


“Holy fuck!” Jeongyeon cheered with a mix of laughter, disbelief, and passionate celebration. “You don’t have an idea on how much you mind fucked my head right now!” 

 

Jeongyeon was struggling to push out words in between intense laughter, and it made Dahyun grip the steering wheel tighter than she should. The only way to stop the sound from getting to her, she figures, is to hit the back of her head against the car chair. Steady rhythmic hits to dull out Jeongyeon’s annoying laughter. 

 

“Dude! You slept with Sana, you wore her jacket, you pretend date her, and now she just announced that you guys are a couple! With a kiss! And it’s just the first day of school!” Jeongyeon dug her fingers into her hair and slowly opens her arms out. “You over fucking achieved, Kim Dahyun! You’re an achiever-gold-star student but damn you outdid yourself!”

 

“I.” Dahyun hits her head back against her seat. “Will.” then again, “Kill.” then again. “You.” 

 

Chaeyoung leans over the center console and reaches out to the passenger seat to slap Jeongyeon’s shoulder with the back of her hand. She chuckled at how Dahyun was breaking down but unlike Jeongyeon, she was actually half worried about the snafu. 

 

“Obviously, you cannot break up with her now.” she rests her head on the shoulder of Dahyun’s seat. “What’s your plan?” 

 

“I highly recommend a plan that doesn’t involve digging your own grave. Which, by the way, is your current area of expertise.” Jeongyeon laughs but was quickly silenced when Chaeyoung hits her arm harder. 

 

“I don’t know, yet.” Dahyun finally sits up straight and sighs. “Sana gave me the power to call terms, at least. So I have that one going for me.”

 

“Wow, you’re also the class president of your own relationship. That’s so you.” Jeongyeon tried her best to hide her laughter, but feels another slap landed on her shoulder. “Ow, Chae!” she laughed louder. 

 

“Well, she never told anyone about what happened at the party.” Dahyun pressed the side of her head against the car window.

 

“As far as you know, that is. I mean, she got the whole football team and the cheerleaders.” Chaeyoung winces. “Who knows what they talk about in the lockers.” And Chaeyoung has every reason to be suspicious. 

 

“No, she hasn’t told anyone yet.” Dahyun says in such certainty that made both her friends raise a brow. Noticing their reactions, Dahyun had to assure them. “I’m sure, okay? I trust her.” 

 

“Oh, come on.” Chaeyoung drops herself back into her seat. “This is Nancy’s ex. And Nancy is a horrible person.” 

 

“Chae’s got a point.” Jeongyeon agrees. 

 

“Do I really have a choice here?” Dahyun keys in the ignition and pulls out from the side of the road. “All I know is, I think I can trust her.”

 

They’d be stopping at Chaeyoung’s house first on the other side of the district then hook back to drop Jeongyeon on the way. It’s late and Dahyun thinks she had enough of this day.

  


///

  


The streetlights zip past the window, clothing her mole dotted face in light, darkness, then light. Momo just glances at the girl sitting on the passenger seat, making sure that she doesn’t stare as much as needed. Mina called her out for this — not keeping her eyes on the road. 

 

“Do you think Sana can trust her?” 

 

_(Myoui Mina, Senior, Cheerleader,  Top 1 of Forbes Atteridge 100 aka can probably buy anything if she chooses to. Momo’s best friend.)_

 

“Hell do I know? Don’t even know if I can trust Sana’s judgement at this point.” Momo sighs. “I just needed to get my point across, okay?” 

 

“Momo.” Mina chuckles, “You just threatened the student council president.” 

 

“I just said that I’m not gonna make it easy for her if she hurts Sana. You know she’d been through a lot. And the season’s coming up too.” 

 

“So yeah, you threatened her.” Mina insists. 

 

“I just told her that bad things can happen if she doesn’t take me seriously. Think of it as a warning , but like, with bad rewards.” Momo proudly rebutts and Mina just looked at her funny, hoping that her silence will make Momo realize one thing. “I just defined ‘threat’, didn’t I?” 

 

“Aww, don’t stop now. You’re getting really good at this!” Mina patronizes, stroking Momo’s hair, much to the driver’s annoyance. 

 

“In my defense, you’re the brains of this friendship.” 

 

“And you are?” Mina laughed, trying to hide how her voice deflated at Momo’s choice of words.

 

“The driver, if that’s not obvious enough.” 

 

“Oh, come on.” Mina drops her gaze down to her hands, fingers tapping on each other just to calm her down. “You always knew you’re more than that.”

 

The silence treacherously filled the spaces in Momo’s car and when the signal ticks were louder than their heartbeat, it was only then that Momo realized how quiet it was.

 

“Do you have that playlist on your phone?” Momo asks, like it was very ordinary. 

 

“Which one?” 

 

“The driving one? The one that you put up for us when we drove to the beach last June?” 

 

“Oh, the Quickie Playlist?” Mina laughs at the nickname they gave it. Momo did too, realizing now how stupid it was. “Yeah, yeah. Hold on.” 

 

Mina leans over the center console and reaches for her phone. It has its own dock right beside Momo’s phone, and it connects to the bluetooth automatically too. A song plays and Momo began to bob softly to the rhythm.

 

“You stood in the light before me. But could you adore me?” she sings quietly, tapping her finger on the steering wheel. Mina’s ears perk up when she realized that Momo was singing the words like she’d been listening to it more than she lets on.

 

“You’re actually listening to this playlist?” Mina teases. 

 

“What? I listen to whatever playlist you make for us!” 

 

“No, you don’t!” 

 

“I do!” Momo glances at Mina’s direction, very briefly but just enough to make Mina believe she saw her friend smile before looking back at the road. Mina can’t blame her. She called Momo out on this — not keeping her eyes on the road, but when she wanted for Momo to look at her a bit longer,  she kind of regretted reprimanding Momo for it. 

 

For now, they descend into a comfortable silence, unconsciously wandering off to the memories of a kinder summer where this playlist was born.

 

_"If you wanna make a move, come on."_

_If I had my way, I would be yours._

  


///

  


A couple of days in, and Dahyun starts the day by disappointing herself. Because when she’s president and one of the highly achieving students of her batch, Dahyun shouldn’t have any reason to be forgetful. 

 

So it’s quite strange when she found herself staring at Sana with jaws slightly ajar like Sana wasn’t supposed to be in her Thursday lab. Did she just forget that Sana is in her Chemistry class?

 

She quickly scoots to the other side of the long lab table, making sure that she groups up with Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon. Because if Dahyun would create a guide for surviving the senior year, it would include this tip:

 

_Senior Year Survival Guide (21): Sit with your friends in lab. There’s a 60% chance you’ll be partnered with a seatmate._

 

But what was not included in her survival guide is this: 

 

_Senior Year Survival Guide (27): The most popular kids sit together. Even more so, with their partners. Steer clear. They’ll make you move anyway._

 

So one can only imagine Dahyun’s worries turn into astonishment when people seemed to instinctively avoid the last three seats on Dahyun’s lab table.  

 

Then dread, when Dahyun realized that Sana just came in with Nayeon and Tzuyu in tow. A group of three people wishing for three chairs that sit together. 

 

Then horror, when Sana’s eyes meet hers, as if the stars aligned and sealed Dahyun’s fate. The quarterback raises her hand to get Dahyun’s attention then nudges Nayeon’s shoulder, telling the cheerleader to follow her. 

 

“Aww, you saved a seat for me.” Sana greets, “That’s sweet.” then she takes the seat right across the council president. Nayeon and Tzuyu followed, with Nayeon sitting across Jeongyeon and Tzuyu sitting across Chaeyoung. 

 

“Hi.” Tzuyu gives them a small wave and smiles. Her eyes squint in adorable arches and her cheeks sink into a cute dimpled smile. 

 

_(Chou Tzuyu, Senior, Cheerleader, Everyone’s Next Door Dream Girl, Squad's baby)_

 

Jeongyeon and Dahyun smile at them while Chaeyoung just spared them a glance before looking down at her phone. At this point, she doesn’t really give a shit if she looks disinterested.

 

“I did not save her the seat!”  Dahyun quickly turns to her friends, struggling to admonish herself from the accusation. 

 

“You moved, Dahyun. You were sitting on Sana’s chair then you moved.” Chaeyoung accused, almost making the popular kids feel unwelcome.

 

“Chae!” Dahyun ducks down to avoid Mr. White’s line of sight. “I swear I did not!” 

 

“Why wouldn’t you?” Nayeon raised her brow. “You guys are dating. You’re supposed to be seated together.” 

 

_(Im Nayeon, Senior, Cheerleading Vice Captain, Allergic to shenanigans, certified queen but nobody's princess)_

 

“We’re not that kind of couple.” Dahyun defends.

 

“What do you mean you didn’t save me a seat?” Sana flashed out a pair of puppy eyes, her chin crumpling playfully.

 

“No!” Dahyun hissed, “You don’t get to play those eyes on me!” 

 

“Uhm, guys?” Chaeyoung whispered then suddenly sat up straight. Tzuyu notices this, and looks at where Chaeyoung was looking. Mr. White was explaining to the class the curriculum, but his eyes are tuned to the four kids locked in a whisper battle. 

 

“Yeah, Dahyun.” Jeongyeon joins in, “Why wouldn’t you save a seat for Sana?” 

 

“The hell? You’re supposed to be on my side!” Dahyun slaps Jeongyeon’s thigh with the back of her hand. 

 

“Guys.” It was Tzuyu’s turn to get their attention, glancing back and forth between Mr. White and their table. 

 

“Well! I did not know that a state of war was existing between the Republic of Our Side of the Table, and the Queendom of Their Side of the Table!” Jeongyeon shoots back at Dahyun.

 

“Oh, does Nayeon get to play queen on our side?” Sana laughs with Jeongyeon. 

 

“Dude, can Nayeon play queen on your side?” Jeongyeon scoffs playfully, sharing a discreet high five with Sana. “Come on.”

 

“Guys.” Chaeyoung pretends to look down on her notes. 

 

“Oh wow, no shortage of morons on a Thursday. Two in one deal? Don’t mind if I do.” Nayeon raises her brow. 

 

“Guys.” Tzuyu sucks in her lips and just joined Chaeyoung in pretend reading notes. 

 

“Do we have a problem?” Mr. White’s voice cuts through the huddle. Dahyun freezes up and she could feel her hand shake all of a sudden. Getting in trouble isn’t really her forte because staying out of it is her responsibility. 

 

“I’m sorry, Mr. White.” she manages to say. “It’s —” Sana notices this, and she quickly comes in to Dahyun’s aid.

 

“It’s my fault.” Sana stands up, putting her hands inside her back pockets. “We were bugging them about lab partner assignments and stuff. I’m really sorry.” 

 

“Sana,” Mr. White sighs, “I know how important you are in this school’s athletic image but that doesn’t mean you can fool around.” 

 

“I understand, Mr. White. We were just carried away. We’re very sorry.” Sana reasons out. “You’ll expect our well behaved selves from now on, sir.” 

 

“You better be.” he takes off his glasses and sits down on the teacher’s table. “I heard you got really good marks in your sciences the previous year so I’m expecting a lot from you.” 

 

Dahyun and her friends had their brows raised when they looked at Sana. Is there something that this girl isn’t good at? 

 

“Take your seat.” Mr. White finally let’s go of the issue and continues. “Now, since we’re on the topic, let’s talk about your favorite part. Lab partners.” 

 

There was a collective groan from the class as if they never knew this would happen. But they do. It happens every damn year.  

 

“Turn to your seatmate. Get familiar with their faces because they’ll be your lab partners for the whole year.” 

 

Dahyun turns to face Jeongyeon, but she found Jeongyeon already facing Chaeyoung, where Tzuyu thought Chaeyoung will look at her. Tzuyu snaps her mouth shut and just looks at Nayeon, who was looking at Jeongyeon, because obviously — by playground rules — Sana is supposed to be partnered with Dahyun. 

 

“Really, Dahyun? Really?” Sana frowns in disbelief. 

 

“Babe,” Dahyun smiles teasingly, and Sana found herself completely disarmed. “I’m just making sure that you won’t get sick of me so I need a lab partner that’s not you.” 

 

But before Sana could fight back, Mr. White was already by their table. He stared at the huddle for a while, then sighed, then started pointing around. 

 

“Sana you go with Dahyun. Band girl, you partner with the person in front of you.” Then he placed his arms akimbo. “That goes the same for you, young lady.” he points to Chaeyoung then to Tzuyu, which made the girl tense up when she realized what just happened. 

 

“Sir, I..” Chaeyoung stares at Tzuyu, then back up to their teacher. 

 

Dahyun and Jeongyeon were obviously alarmed by the sudden turn of events, both of them half standing up. They poised to reason with but Mr. White refused to hear any of it. 

 

“That’s final. I’m not risking another ruckus from this table.” he flashes a small smile then walks back to front, leaving Chaeyoung with her mouth still open mid speech. 

 

“I’m sorry, Chae.” Dahyun mumbles, cutting through the awkward silence that suddenly befell them. 

 

“Fuck.” Chaeyoung pressed the sole of her palms against her eyes for a quick couple of seconds. She inhales sharply, hoping to contain her temper, then she went back to pretend-looking at her notes while shaking her head every other moment.

 

Tzuyu was perceptive, unfortunately. Perceptive to the fact that Chaeyoung didn’t even glance at her when she said ‘hi’. Perceptive to the fact that Chaeyoung tried to avoid the conversation entirely when they were arguing. And perceptive to the fact that Chaeyeon was in obvious distress when she was partnered with her.

 

“I could switch partners if you —”

 

“He said it’s final.” Chaeyoung interrupts, and she should’ve stopped at that. “Unless you have a hard time understanding simple English.”

 

Needless to say, an awkward tension hovered over their group for the remainder of the period as Tzuyu tried her best to not look so dejected than she already was.

  


///

  


“How’s Chaeyoung?” Sana catches up on Dahyun, the both of them walking to lunch. 

 

“She’s not in talking terms,” Dahyun continued walking. “Which means, she’s off limits until the weekend. Chewy?” 

 

“Well, she’s upset. Did Chewy do anything to her?” Sana weaves through the crowd, trying to reacquaint herself to the task of walking side by side with someone. It’s been a while.

 

“It’s not that she’s partnered with Chewy.” Dahyun explains. “It’s because she’s partnered with a cheerleader.”

 

“She hates cheerleaders?” 

 

“Sana.” Dahyun stops and turns to look up to the quarterback’s eyes. “Don’t play dumb.” 

 

“I..” Sana voices trails off. Her mind was digging through what Dahyun said and it doesn’t really remind her of anything that could elicit this kind of reaction from Chaeyoung. “I seriously don’t understand.” Sana’s brows furrow. 

 

“There are people. People in the athletics. They are..” Dahyun takes a deep breath, trying to find the right words. “They are.. unkind to her.” 

 

“But that’s Nayeon and Tzuyu! They’re pretty solid!” Sana defends.

 

“And I have no doubts about that. Nayeon was actually pretty nice to her during the leadership summit. But the point is, have you ever seen a cheerleader stop another cheerleader from making fun of Chae?” Dahyun argues and Sana found herself scrambling for words that will never come. “I’ll try and clear her head. Right now, she only sees me as the reason why she got into this mess.” 

 

“Does she hate footballers?” Sana asks. 

 

“No.” Dahyun rolls her eyes. 

 

“Just checking if Chae hates her bestfriend’s girlfriend.” Sana raises both her hands in surrender, earning her a slap on the shoulder. Sana thinks she should figure out a way to get used to this. “Is there anything I could do to help?” she asks as she nursed her shoulder.

 

“Yeah. Just tell Chewy that it’s nothing personal.” Dahyun sighs. “Besides, it seems like trouble follows whenever we’re in one place so it’s best not to meddle in too much.”

 

“Dahyun,” Sana lets out a breathy laugh. “We just get into trouble when you get too stiff. You weren’t like this to me in Jennie’s party. Makes me think that you secretly hate me or something.”

 

Dahyun can’t miss that sudden crack in Sana’s voice. She wanted to think nothing of it but Sana has a point, plus she wasn’t making it easy for Dahyun when she looked at her like she won’t drop this unless she gets a proper answer.

 

Dahyun lets out an audible sigh, much of her frustrations going along with it. She wraps her arms around herself 

 

“It’s just that, I don’t know how to do this.”

 

“Hey.” Sana reaches and squeezes Dahyun’s shoulders. “We can pretend date but  we don’t have to pretend being friends.”  

 

Dahyun finally smiles and nods. 

 

“Just don’t let this blow out of proportion.” she points at Sana, an inch between her finger and Sana’s nose. Sana chuckles, then chases Dahyun finger with chomps and bites that never really made her target. “Now, go away. I need to talk to Chaeyoung.” 

  


///

  


Thursday  was almost ending and Chaeyoung was still not in speaking terms with the two. Yes, she’s still very much hanging out with them, but she was only giving nods to acknowledge whatever they’re saying — words if she’s feeling a bit generous. 

 

But despite all that, she assured her two best friends that they’re good, and that they have an awful tendency to be moronic at most important times. She’ll eventually come around, Dahyun believes, as this was Chaeyoung’s innate nature. It was her super power — masking things and quickly moving on because that’s the only way she knows how to survive high school. 

 

That night, she would go and lie to her parents that school was fine and that she’d be okay in the next week. But when her parents weren’t looking, her bright smile fades quickly, replacing it with pressed lips and a worried expression. 

 

Before this year even began, the three of them promised to achieve one goal for their last year: Finish senior year unscathed. 

 

But Dahyun has the presidency and Sana now. Jeongyeon is becoming more serious with her band with increased rehearsals, and now, she’s left with Tzuyu hanging so closely around. It’s like wearing a target at a shooting range, or flares in a game of hide and seek.

 

A popular cheerleader and an outcast. So much for blending into the background.

  


///

  


Saturday.

 

Sana found herself laughing to the fact that she’s driving into Chelsea Park, aka Dahyun’s neighborhood, also aka, the neighborhood right next to Potomac Fens, aka Sana’s neighborhood. Hell, the drive wasn’t even ten minutes long, even if it included the walk from her car to Dahyun’s doorstep. 

 

She pressed on the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door. And in that short wait, her eyes wandered around the property. The house is pretty big. Almost like a caricature of what she sees on TV series. There were also two cars parked on the driveway — an SUV and Dahyun’s red hatchback Elantra. 

 

At least she got the right house.

 

“Never had trouble finding the place?” Dahyun says, pulling Sana out from her thoughts only to find herself looking at another visual treat. Track shorts that puts ‘too’ in ‘too short’, and a powder blue pullover with an ugly bunny embroidery. 

 

Cute. Sana thought.

 

“You know,” Sana began to laugh, and Dahyun never took that as a good sign. “It’s funny that we never saw each other around the area when I just live in Potomac Fens. You know, the neighborhood just downhill behind your house.” 

 

“Oh, great.” Dahyun whines. “Now’s the perfect time to move out of state.” 

 

“Stop pretending that you didn’t miss me, Dahyun.” Sana smiles smugly, and Dahyun wishes that she stop doing that.  

 

“I try.” Dahyun stands firm and winks, before stepping to the side of the doorway. “Come on in. Appa! Sana’s here.” 

 

Sana obeys but not without nudging each other’s shoulders in the attempts of toppling the other one down.

 

“Good morning, Mr. Kim.” Sana greets politely as she walks in. Her hand was already stretched out as she watched the man walk up towards her, probably coming from the kitchen. 

 

“And now there are three people stuck in school work on a Saturday. Welcome to the club. We got some jackets made.” they firmly shake hands and share a good laugh. Sana leans closer and speaks through the corner of her lips.

 

“It’s hard to say no when my lab grades are on the line.” 

 

“Well, my daughter is a very persuasive young lady. Afterall, she managed an entire batch to vote for her.” Dahyun’s dad finally lets Sana’s hand go and allowed Dahyun to usher her friend into the living area. 

 

“Not keen about her presidency, sir?” Sana asks. 

 

“I mean, she’s working on a Saturday. I’m afraid I’m raising a workaholic.”

 

“I’m here.” Dahyun suddenly pipes between them. “But please go ahead and talk about me. While I am here. Standing. Here.” 

 

“Ah, there you are!” he cheers sarcastically. “Been looking all over for you. Don’t you have work today?” 

 

“I should be asking you the same.” Dahyun wiggled her eyebrows as she held up her dad’s coat.

 

He just smiled and pushed his arms into the sleeves, then Dahyun patted it down to make sure that it’s crease free. Sana watched their ritual. Their closeness made her wonder where Mrs. Kim is, but seeing that there’s a hint of normalcy in her absence, Sana opted not to ask.

 

“Great place you have here Mr. Kim.” Sana said instead.

 

“Thank you so much. We, uhh.” Dahyun’s dad takes a deep breath and looks around. “We, uhh, made sure the place stayed this way for a long time. So I hope you guys don’t blow it up with your science experiments or a party. You are throwing a party, right?” 

 

“Very funny, appa.” Dahyun laughed dryly.

 

“I try.” he winks. Now, Sana knows where Dahyun gets it from. “Anyway, cooked buldak for you guys so just heat it up when you get hungry for lunch. You’re good with Korean, Sana?”

 

“Oh, I’m  very good with Korean, Mr. Kim.” Sana glances at Dahyun and subtly winks at her. Something tells Dahyun that Sana isn’t talking about food.

 

“That’s good to know then.” he grabs his things by the foyer and heads for the door. “And Dahyun, honey?” 

 

“Yeah?” 

 

“Left you some cash because I might be late for tonight. Please spend it on alcohol. Sana can help you with that.” 

 

“Appa!” 

 

“I’m kidding.” he smiles. “Anyway, I’m off.” 

 

They both stood by the porch and saw the car pull out from the cul de sac. A couple of minutes more and it disappears at the end of the road. Dahyun turns back and taps Sana’s shoulder with the back of her hand. They were quiet for a little while which made them notice how alone they were in this fairly large house.

 

“My dad teaches on weekends in yoonee (UNEE).” Dahyun breaks the silence.

 

“University of New England and the East?” 

 

“Yup.” 

 

“I’m trying to get a spot there.” Sana leans by the kitchen doorway as Dahyun got her something to drink. 

 

“Really? That’s pretty great. Athletic scholarship plus your grades, I see no reason why you can’t.” Dahyun glances over her shoulder briefly. “Water, soda, coffee, tea, juice? Blood of your enemies? Tears of the Westford athletics?”

 

“Not gonna offer yourself? Or a beer?” Sana answers.

 

“Nope. Today is not that kind of hanging out. I’m planning to keep my clothes on today, thank-you-very-much.”

 

“It’s was worth a try.” Sana puts on a sly smile.

 

“Ha ha.” Dahyun lets out a dry laugh, much to Sana’s amusement. And so, retribution comes in a form of a can of rootbeer. 

 

“Why? You’re not going to?” Sana goes back to college talk.

 

“I’m..” Dahyun lingers, getting lost in her thoughts for a moment. “For medicine, yes.” 

 

“Damn, Dahyun. Can you get less Asian?” 

 

“I don’t know, can you get less annoying?” Dahyun sashays back to Sana and pushes the can into her chest. Sana just smirks and takes the drink. She opens it without letting go of Dahyun’s eyes, her sexy smile very much staying.

 

“For you, baby, I’ll try.” 

 

“Aww, aren’t you the sweetest?” Dahyun squeezes Sana’s cheeks together with one hand and shakes Sana’s head like she was some kind of baby. But her funny faces quickly dissolves into a sterner look as she returned to the real reason why they’re here.  “Now, in the issue of terms-and-conditioning your ass so bad.”

 

And so, their Saturday begins.

  


///

  


In another house, sounds of gunfire and zipping lead broke the silence as a total of sixty players descend into the battle map. It’s not a free for all shooting gallery like what most kids play in those days. Chaeyoung hates that barbaric game mode. It’s a team game with securing objectives and a lot of trash talking.

 

“Hey, I’m glad you’re okay now.” Jeongyeon’s player crouches behind some crates, then the capture meter started filling up.

 

“I don’t really have much of a choice there, do I?” Chaeyoung carefully crawls out to the edge of the water tower then sniped two players heading for Jeongyeon’s position. “I just need to keep my head down from now on. You guys owe me” 

 

“If anything happens, you know you can count on me and Dahyun.” 

 

“I don’t know about that. Dahyun has Sana now.” Chaeyoung finally relaxes when Jeongyeon captures the hard point. 

 

“She’s not gonna switch to their side, if that’s what you’re saying.”

 

“Of course not.” Chaeyoung defends, a frown visibly forming between her brows. “I’m just saying, people may start.. You know..” 

 

“Hating her?” Jeongyeon beats her to the punch, and to the kill when she shot down whoever was shooting at Chaeyoung.

 

“Not a remote possibility.” 

 

“True.” Jeongyeon surrenders the argument, because it is actually possible. Dahyun is well respected but not totally liked. With her reputation of being hard on bullying, it’s not surprising that some people find her too uptight and annoying. People whose hobbies include making other students miserable. 

 

“Fuck.” Chaeyoung sighs.“So much for a quiet year.”

 

“Hey.” Jeongyeon sprints towards the high ground. “We’ll stick together, alright? Don’t worry about Dahyun. She got us. You got us.” 

 

The assurance is a warm welcome, to say the least. This has been the basis of their friendship since day one. Chaeyoung just nods, even if they’re both playing a couple of miles away from each other. 

 

“Speaking of, how about you? You’re not gonna date people? You have hot band mates.” she suddenly breaks the conversation to another topic with the ticking and tacking of buttons still heard in the background.

 

“Jieun is dating her neighbor, and Ryujin basically has Yuna on the fences.” Jeongyeon explains.

 

“Damn, she’s fast.” 

 

“Actually, no. The drummer made the first move.” 

 

“Not gonna blame her, though.” Chaeyoung follows Jeongyeon’s character closely. “Watch out on that barn.”

 

“Got it. Frags out.” Jeongyeon cooly commands, before going back to their conversation. “True. But then again, not that I’m gonna date anyone of them. Wanna date me?” 

 

They had this conversation before, the three of them, on the way to the leadership summit. While they acknowledged that anyone of them is dating material, their friendship is based on sisterhood and the agreement that whoever gets the best food automatically shares it with everyone. And also, spoiling Chaeyoung for every chance they get.

 

“Eww. Kill me first.” Chaeyoung says dryly. 

 

“Okay!” Jeongyeon throws her a grenade.

 

“Hey!” Chaeyoung panics, her character jumping around the room undecidedly until the inevitable happens. Jeongyeon laughs at how Chaeyoung’s body bounced off the ceiling and dies. “Why are you a piece of shit?” 

 

“I don’t know, actually. Remind me to make answering that question my main mission in life.” 

 

“Wow. You aim low in life.” Chaeyoung respawns and makes her way to where Jeongyeon was holding their position.

 

“That’s why I’d very much like for you to aim high. Don’t be a me, Chae.” 

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Chewy! Your lab partner!” Jeongyeon groans like it was the most obvious thing, which predictably triggered Chaeyoung.

 

“I swear to god, Jeongyeon, if this was your plan all along!” 

 

“Something this elaborate?” Jeongyeon laughs at herself and the idea of it. “You must really think highly of me! I’m actually flattered.” 

 

“Ugh, fair point.” 

 

“I mean, I don’t know. Maybe she ain’t so bad.” Jeongyeon shrugs and holds her ground until they captured the point. “Let’s push up.” The both of them moved along the trenches, killing off two enemies on the way to their next objective.  

 

“Jeong.” Chaeyoung says sternly.

 

“Not forcing you. Just thinking out loud.” 

 

“Then stop thinking out loud! Actually, you know what—” Chaeyoung interrupts herself. ”Stop thinking altogether.” 

 

“Why? Thinking is my best skill.” Jeongyeon boasts. “I’m a thinker person. I think about things.”

 

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Chaeyoung puts down her controller when their team finally won. Jeongyeon breaks off from the party and Chaeyoung resets her loadouts.  

 

“Anyways, gotta check on the band. You have plans today?” Jeongyeon wraps up her online session.

 

“Yeah. I have some errands to run. Talk to you later?” 

 

“Yup! Also, keep an ear out for Dahyun.” she instructs Chaeyoung.

 

“Ah, yeah yeah. Sana’s over her place today, right?” 

 

“Yes. She might need some reinforcements or whatever.” Jeongyeon finally logs off Battlestorm.

 

“Got it.” 

 

“Also, the aim. Please make it high.” 

 

“Go away.” Chaeyoung rolls her eyes.

 

“Talk to you later!” 

 

“See ya!” 

 

Jeongyeon logs off the party chat, leaving Chaeyoung at the mercy of her own thoughts. 

 

The lab partner fiasco is such a dick move by the universe but there’s nothing she could really do about it but to actually try and pass the subject with Tzuyu’s help. She just have to figure out a way to make things business like in hopes that it doesn’t land her in the crosshairs of the athletics people. 

 

It won’t be easy, she thinks, since Tzuyu (aka Chewy, but she’ll never call her that) is one of the most popular cheerleaders in the school.

  


///

  


It was strange having Sana in her room. 

 

And by having Sana in her room, it’s not Sana sitting by the couch with her hands on her lap. No. Sana is on her bed, hugging one of Dahyun’s larger pillows while she was lying on her side, her head propped on her folded knuckles. 

 

The room is cozy. That’s Sana’s first thought. The bed is big enough for three people and it’s filled with at least seven pillows. The walls are strewn with fairy lights, framing some posters of bands that Sana also follow. She has a large work table too, with books lined according to color and size. Her school laptop is also there, along with polaroid pictures pinned on the corkboard. But what stood out the most is her collection of certificates and medals she acquired for the past years.

 

Something tells Sana that Dahyun had worked hard to keep her room this way, and even if Dahyun was speaking in the background, she can’t help but to search for Dahyun’s tiny details inside her safest space.

 

“Are you listening?” Dahyun eyes her suspiciously as she straightens herself up against the headboard.

 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

 

“What were my first terms?” she asks Sana with a challenging tone. 

 

“We are not allowed to date anyone else until the season ends. This is to lessen the risks of the relationship.” Sana begins in a monotone, like a student reciting the allegiance to the flag. “We share the costs and the logistics of the relationship equally and equitably. We must also share all plans whenever we use the relationship to achieve any agenda. Fuck, Dahyun, are we establishing a new country?” Sana groans in disbelief.

 

“This is important, okay?” Dahyun points at Sana’s nose, which the other girl would obviously chase with her chomps. “It puts us on the same expectations, and makes it easier for us to move around.” 

 

“Dahyun,” Sana finally retreats, stopping the finger chase altogether. “I do understand the importance of the house rules but don’t you think you’re missing the more important parts of this deal?” Sana rolls on her stomach and crawls up on Dahyun’s lap. She nestles her chin between Dahyun’s knees and looked at her sternly. 

 

“Like what?” Dahyun asks, maybe becoming a bit nervous.

 

“Okay, example.” Sana clears her throat. “Are you willing to kiss me in public?” 

 

“What?” 

 

“Kiss. Like in school, for instance.” Sana presses on.

 

“Why would I do that?” Dahyun spoke softly for some reason, remembering that time in the gym when Sana’s lips came dangerously close to hers. If her face was angled differently, Sana’s lips would’ve found the mark easily.

 

“Because that’s what normal couples do.” Sana shrugs, like she’s done the kissing far too many times that she could count. Which she did, and Dahyun’s experience wouldn’t even match up. 

 

“But it’s just pretending.” 

 

Sana suddenly pushes herself off of Dahyun’s legs crawls up to her. She brings their faces to level and Dahyun wished that she had more space to lean her head back, because damn that’s an inch between their noses give or take. 

 

“You are disagreeing to one of the most obvious parts of a relationship. Are you sabotaging us?” Sana narrows her eyes and looks at Dahyun sternly.

 

“That’s not what I meant!” Dahyun quickly defends. 

 

“What do you mean, then?” Sana smirks, confident that she got Dahyun cornered on this one.  

 

“What I meant was, is this really necessary?” Dahyun sinks down, cowering from how Sana was staring at her. 

 

“I don’t know, Dahyun. You tell me. More questions are attracted by suspicion. Unless you want people asking.” 

 

Dahyun closed her eyes to think, because thinking becomes too difficult all of a sudden when she could feel Sana’s warm breath brush ticklishly against her lips. The thing is, the extent of her sophisticated knowledge on relationships are only as much as what the movies are showing. And yes, she usually see campus couples kissing, hugging, holding hands, and most probably having sex. 

 

So, yes. As far as points being made, Sana is undoubtedly successful. 

 

“Fine. We do coupley things in public but only if we’re together.” Dahyun sighs audibly. 

 

“It’s set then.” Sana says, unflinching in the distance between their faces. Which is unfair because now, she’s licking her lips with her eyes fluttering between Dahyun’s eyes and lips. “Now, what do you want for your girlfriend to do for you?” 

 

“A lot.” Dahyun cups Sana’s face then turns it away from her, finally releasing the air that she was holding in her lungs. Sana chuckles and sits back up with crossed legs, grabbing her ankles to straighten herself up. “In the span of this school year, I’ll be doing some.. personal missions.” 

 

“Yikes.” Sana winces. Outreach? Community service? “That doesn’t sound good.” but Dahyun places a leather bound notebook on Sana’s lap anyway. The quarterback blinks, then tilts her head in confusion. 

 

“Open it.” Dahyun leaned back against the headboard once more. Sana obeys, but not before giving Dahyun a quick glance of suspicion. 

 

Sana flips through the third page and saw something that resembles a list of sorts. The penmanship is clean (and really pretty), making Sana think that this was deliberately thought over for quite some time. Which is quite strange because who the hell puts “Play a prank” in any kind of list? Unless, of course, you are the perpetrator, to which, Dahyun has totally no business in being one. 

 

Being one. Dahyun. Perpetrator. 

 

Sana’s laughter quickly subsides when she realized that these are a list of things that Dahyun would not do. Not when she’s the president of the council, academic achiever, and the epitome of a responsible student. And with their last year of high school finally beginning, Sana can’t help but be bothered on what this list is all about. 

 

“You will be my accomplice.” Dahyun smirks. 

 

“But, don’t you have friends for this?” Sana glances up at Dahyun. 

 

“They’ll be included. Discreetly. Without them knowing about the list.” Dahyun nods, “But in most parts, it will be you.” 

 

“Why me?” 

 

“Because there’s a price to pay when you drag someone into making your ex jealous. You see, I planned this even the year began. I planned on doing this alone and now, here you are. The way I see it, I’m stuck with you. So..” Dahyun folds her arms loosely below her chest, giving a smug smile that didn’t really sit well with Sana. “I need you to guide me through this.”

 

“Ain’t you a sly fox, Kim Dahyun.” Sana finally closes the notebook and meets Dahyun’s eyes with her own. It would be a total lie if Sana says that this didn’t excite her in any way. This is, afterall, the year where their council president will be pulling off stunts that the others wouldn’t even dream of doing. A total off-character spin from the yearbook’s ‘Most Likely To Succeed’ section. 

 

Sana wants in. 

 

“The Guide to the Infinite Year.” Sana chuckles. “Very well then.”

 

“Do we have a deal?” Dahyun puts her hand out, expecting Sana to shake on it.

 

“I, Sana Minatozaki, hereby agree on the terms and conditions.” Sana shakes Dahyun’s hand firmly, noticing how soft it was. “How about we begin this afternoon?” 

 

“This afternoon?” Dahyun says inquisitively. 

 

“We still have $50 from the party. Why waste a Saturday by staying in? Besides, this is the last Saturday that I’ll be free. Football practices and stuff.” Sana finally gets off the bed and hung her wrists in the air for Dahyun to take. “Shall we?”

  


///

  


“Okay, guys!” Jeongyeon claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s wrap it up!”

 

“We’re done for the weekend?” Ryujin takes off the bass from her neck. 

 

“Yeah. I mean, we’ve already got our bases covered. You and Jieun know your tones plus Yuna was super quick to catch up, thanks to you.” Jeongyeon looks behind Ryujin’s shoulder and grins at the drummer by the kit. Yuna just gave her a bigger bright eyed grin and a thumbs up, quite pleased about herself as well. “See? She’s smiling. She gets it.” 

 

Ryujin just nods quietly, stopping herself from looking too much into it. But then again, this has been the third time they wrapped up earlier than expected. Ryujin doesn’t have any issues with it, it’s just something that she noticed was happening pretty often. 

 

“Seeing your girlfriend after this?” Ryujin asks. 

 

“What?” Jeongyeon scoffs and laughs. “Where’d you even get that from?” 

 

“Nowhere in particular. I just noticed we’re finishing earlier than usual.” 

 

“And I am noticing so much negativity from you, my friend. It’s the weekend. Live a little.” Jeongyeon squeezes Ryujin’s shoulders then drops the matter entirely. She then proceeded to take out her notes and gestured for everyone to gather around her. 

 

“I’ll be sharing with you later the schedules for school performances but I have to tell you guys, we’ll be singing some songs for prom.” Jeongyeon says proudly, warranting some cheers from the group. “Pep Rally is also coming up, so we better gear up for that one as well. Let’s talk about which songs you guys wanna cover, especially during the dance. Alright?” 

 

The group agreed, or at least Jieun and Ryujin nodded with smiles on their faces. The transferee, meanwhile  — the one with red hair, tight long sleeves and denim shorts — cheers out an “Alright!” with a huge smile on her face.

 

“See?” Jeongyeon taps Ryujin’s shoulder after she gathered her things. “Yuna gets it.”

 

They just shared a chuckle after that, then Jeongyeon quickly packs up. The others did so too, with Ryujin zipping up her bass guitar case. It wasn’t long enough when she felt someone nudge her from the side. Red hair, big eyes, and that endless sense of curiosity and excitement.

 

“So?” Yuna ran her hand through her red locks.

 

“Well,” Ryujin exhales. “She didn’t deny it.” 

  


///

  


**[BB8]**

We just finished! 

I’m on my way!

 

**[BunnyHunny]**

Took you long enough.

 

**[BB8]**

You are demanding. You know that?

 

**[BunnyHunny]**

There is a price to pay in hiding, Jeongyeon.

I’m just here to make sure I’m getting my babe time.

 

**[BB8]**

Is speeding considered a felony?

Asking for a friend.

 

**[BunnyHunny]**

Attagirl!

  


///

  


With a phone call of permission, and a change of clothes to an oversized shirt tucked into denim shorts, plus sneakers, Dahyun waited in line for scoops of ice cream. A bacon one for Sana and a kimchi-flavored one for Dahyun, and while everyone else were giving them weird looks, they both knew what they were doing. 

 

“It’s like vegetarian yogurt, if that makes any sense.” Dahyun crumples her nose and puts up her cone close to Sana’s lips. Sana smelled it for a couple of seconds before taking a small nip. “It actually has a good aftertaste, though.” 

 

“Mhmmm!” Sana mumbles as the flavors finally settles in her mouth. “That is pretty pickled.” Also crumpling her nose from the taste, “Like spicy yogurt milk.” 

 

Dahyun excitedly nods in agreement. Sana never tried funny flavored ice cream before but Dahyun figured that new experience should be used with the free money that they have. And to commemorate such an event, Sana took a picture of Dahyun and her ice cream cone and makes it her wallpaper. 

 

Just checking some To Do’s on their first “casual date”.

 

“How’s yours?” Dahyun looked down on the cone that Sana was holding. Sana simply raises it against Dahyun’s lips so she takes a small nip as well. “Oh, damn. That’s like bacon Krispy Kreme sandwiches. Don’t finish yours. I need that to cleanse all of this.” she laughs. 

 

“Right? It’s actually pretty genius.” Sana says proudly, then she licked the spot where Dahyun nibbled. “This place is surprisingly solid.” Sana licked her ice cream again, her eyes wandering around the area as if they haven’t been walking around for the past hour already. 

 

In the simplest sense, Dahyun brought her to a fish market. A fish market with a large neon sign that says ‘Five Points Fish Market’ in a rather vintage font. It comes with a neon lined fish that makes a swimming animation of sorts, much to Sana’s amazement. But it wasn’t just a fish market. The road that it’s on has long been closed (but not the five roads that congregate on both ends of the street, thus Five Points) and were now lined with some tables for mom and pop’s restaurants and small novelty stores that sell everything from handicrafts, used clothing, comic books, and bike parts. There were murals all over the place and at every spot something seems to be happening. 

 

“What?” Dahyun laughs in disbelief. “You’ve never been here? Five Points?” 

 

“Come on, Dahyun. A fish market. Really?” Sana said in a way that doesn’t invalidate Dahyun’s preferences but more of just pointing out the obvious. A fish market isn’t really a place to go on a date especially if you used to date one of the most popular girls in school. 

 

“Right. You and Nancy used to hang out uptown, where the atmosphere is posh and the wind isn’t so briny.” Dahyun takes another big nibble from her kimchi flavored treat. “I still find it weird that you date someone in a restaurant. It’s like you’re wannabee adults or something.”

 

Sana just laughs at this because it’s true. But it’s not like she won’t give whatever her girlfriend wants. That’s just not how it works for her. 

 

“Why? What’s your typical date?” she asks. 

 

“I don’t really know. I mean, I’ve never been to a date-date before.” Dahyun shrugs, surprisingly enjoying the ice cream. “As long as it’s fun, I guess?” Dahyun stops by a sticker stall, then asks Sana to hold her ice cream cone for her so she could peruse properly. Sana obliged but found herself in quiet panic when she felt the ice cream was dripping on the side. The only thing Dahyun could do is giggle in panic while she wipes it off Sana’s hand with a small ball of tissue. 

 

“Where would you take me for a first date?” Dahyun finally asks after the small fiasco.

 

“A restaurant uptown?” Sana teases, continuing the conversation. “For real, though. I’d just take you to wherever you want.” 

 

“For someone who dated around, Sana, you’re unimaginative.” Dahyun says as she inspects the stickers. She picks up the super realistic and trippy unicorn head, and the ostrich with hairy human legs.

 

“For someone who never dated, you’re a harsh critic.” Sana joins her browsing. She settles her eyes on a statement sticker that says ‘ALL CAPS MEANS ANGRY’ and points at it with her lips. Dahyun breaks off from choosing and looks at whatever stole Sana’s attention, which would, of course, end with a slap on Sana’s shoulder and some laughter. “Are you challenging my skills to do a first date?”

 

“I’m not asking for much, really.” Dahyun continues. “But it’s in The Guide for the Infinite Year. You know, the one you agreed on.” 

 

“I’ll think about it now, then.” Sana assures, but not with Dahyun’s skepticism, though.

 

“Don’t overdo it. Then it would be just some stunt.” Dahyun pays for her three stickers and takes her cone from Sana. She was different, Sana thought. There was a part of her that thinks Dahyun is asking for something elaborate but a nagging part of her also says that she’s looking for something more detailed. Something more creative. Something more sincere.

 

“Damn, never thought it’d be this hard to date a council member.” Sana scoffs as she watched Dahyun wiggle her eyebrows triumphantly. 

 

“Well, you’re the one who chose this.” Dahyun says in a triumphant sing-song voice. 

 

“Speaking of dating council members.” Sana suddenly steps away from the street and drags Dahyun behind one of the stalls. She leaned to the side to look towards a small cafe with large windows. “So this is where the nerds hang out?” 

 

“Yup. You’ll see one or two around. An Ottacku member if you’re unlucky.” Dahyun explained.

 

“You hate the Ottacku people?” Sana asked, curiously thinking if the diplomat for the people by the people hates a specific group of students. “I thought you’re the president.” 

 

“Sana, Allen Green harassed Yabuki Nako saying that she’s his anime ‘waifu’. That’s racist and scary. Park Jisoo almost got stabbed with a pencil when Margaret Dane found out that she doesn’t know what Hetalia is.” Dahyun frowned as she listed the incidents. “Do you even know what Hetalia is?” 

 

Sana kept on looking at whoever stole her attention, but she indulges Dahyun anyway. “And these kids don’t get detention?” 

 

“No.” Dahyun shrugs. “We do recommend their parents to see the counselor, though. I don’t hate the kids. I just need to stop them from hurting themselves and somebody else. Then everyone and everything is at peace.” 

 

At this point, Sana turns to Dahyun. She gave Dahyun a scrutinizing gaze for a couple of moments before Dahyun shook her head slowly with a non verbal What?

 

“It freaks me out, you know?” Sana said with her eyes narrowed. “It freaks me out that you’re so fit for the president job.”

 

“Thank you.” Dahyun giggles shyly at the compliment, but when Sana just kept on staring at her like something’s wrong with her, Dahyun straightens herself up. 

 

“Oh.” Dahyun’s face dissolved into disappointment. “Ha ha.” 

 

Sana laughed at this, then turns her attention back to the people that she’s watching.

 

“What’s happening?” Dahyun finally asked as she craned her neck to look at whatever distracted Sana. 

  


“Interesting. So that’s how Yujin got your number.” Sana squints her eyes at the sight of Minjoo sitting snuggly beside the girl with the white baseball cap. And even if almost half of her face is covered by the visor, Sana knew exactly who owns that cap and those pair of dimples. Minjoo was visibly enjoying the other girl’s company as she was laughing so much to whatever Yujin was telling her. 

 

“Ahh.” Dahyun just nods, as if finding the discovery uninteresting.

 

“It’s Yujin and Minjoo! They’re on a date!” Sana explains enthusiastically, but only got a very plain reaction from the council president. “Oh, wait. You already know about this?” 

 

“Yujin fetches Minjoo everytime the council finishes late. Ever since their sophomore year.” Dahyun shrugs and finally finishes her cone.

 

“That’s explains it.” Sana nods.

 

“Explains what?” Dahyun grabs Sana’s wrist and tilts the other girl’s ice cream towards her lips. She takes a nibble to wash off the vegetarian yogurt taste and wipes off the traces of vanilla from her mouth.

 

“Explains why I don’t know. Council news is for the council clique. Besides, Yujin never really speaks much.” Sana shares.

 

“Really? I mean, she’s very polite.” 

 

“You mean very diplomatic?” Sana corrected.

 

“Can’t say diplomatic.” Dahyun winces. “She can get a bit hyper at times. Especially when everyone begins to raid Minjoo’s snacks. Her and Hyewon.” 

 

“Huh.” Sana mumbles in thought. Yujin has always been rather quiet as a quarterback. She speaks only when spoken to. She sits a bit farther up the bleachers when they huddle, and wouldn’t always hang around after practices. She causes no trouble or participates into shenanigans. So it’s a bit strange that she’s friendly with the council and not with the team. 

 

“What’s bothering you?” Dahyun pulls Sana out from her thoughts.

 

“Nothing.” Sana glances at Dahyun and gives her a reassuring smile. “Come on! Let’s check out your stationeries before it gets dark. Your dad might kill me.” 

  


///

  


**[Chaeyoung]**

Duuuuude!

 

**[Dahyun]**

What’s up?

Oh, wait. Jeongyeon asked you to check up on me.

Didn’t she?

 

**[Chaeyoung]**

Why are you always suspicious of my motives? 

Jeong, I already texted Dahyun. 

FUCK! 

 

**[Dahyun]**

Why are you the way that you are?

 

**[Chaeyoung]**

UGH! Whatever. How are things with Sana?

 

Dahyun never got the chance to answer the text. In the heating of dinner that is chicken buldak, texting should be as prohibited as it is when driving. Afterall, it has been instructed to her that she should not burn the house down. Not that she has any intentions to do so. 

 

With Sana’s help in setting a table for two, they found themselves sharing a meal that was meant for lunch. Yet, here they are, half past six, sharing a meal that Sana most probably have never tried before. Much like how she never tried dating someone like Dahyun. 

 

“Chaeyoung’s asking if you killed me already.” Dahyun mentions when they started eating. 

 

“I think Chaeyoung is getting the dynamics wrong.” Sana takes a bite of the chicken, her eyes popping as soon as she did. “Oh, this is really good.” 

 

“Great. Another fan of my dad’s cooking. More of that and he’ll start inviting you over.” Dahyun rolls her eyes and checks her phone again.

 

**[Appa]**

You home already? 

 

**[Dahyun]**

Yep. Eating budak.

It’s good!

Sana says it’s good.

Also, your dinner cash is safe.

 

**[Appa]**

Sana still there with you?

 

“And now dad is asking if you killed me already.” Dahyun puts her phone down on the table and started fumbling her food with her chopsticks. In that short while, she noticed that Sana was focused much more on eating than scrolling about her phone. “Your friends haven’t been asking about me?” Dahyun continues.

 

“Why are you asking?” Sana laughs. “Are you fishing?” 

 

“I’m just curious!” Dahyun defends, suddenly becoming shy and awkward when her words came out quicker than she expected. 

 

“Why are you blushing!” Sana points accusingly, her voice pitching higher through the laughter. 

 

“I’m not!” Dahyun desperately lies because she’s actually feeling her cheeks burn. “It’s the spicy chicken!” 

 

“Bullshit! You haven’t touched your food!” Sana snaps her head back in laughter. 

 

“Ugh! I hate you!” Dahyun huffs and eats, not glancing at Sana for the next couple of moments. She wasn’t fishing, really. She was just curious on how Sana’s friends are taking it. She just wanted to know if Sana is as open to Momo and Jihyo as much as Dahyun is open to Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon. Especially now that her friends are checking up on her.

 

**[Dahyun]**

She’s fine, Chae.

I mean, we were in my room most of the time.

Nothing sexual or anything. Which is good.

Then we went out for a bit.

We’re just eating now.

Like how normal couples do. LOL ugh

 

“I’ll buy you a ship sticker next time so it’d be easier for you to fish.” Sana giggles and Dahyun just replied with a mocking Ha ha face before going back to her food in silence. 

 

“But real talk, though.” Sana’s voice mellows in a rather serious tone. “I haven’t told them about us. They just know we’re going out but not the set up and things.” 

 

There was a short silence between them, with only the ringing of the cutlery and porcelain, then Dahyun leans her back against the chair. 

 

“Why?” She asks. 

 

“Proximity.” Sana answers scarcely, stuffing her mouth with chicken instead. 

 

“Proximity?” Dahyun presses. Her phone vibrates again but she thinks that Chaeyoung could wait. A beat passes when Sana finally swallows her food, so now she has no choice but to explain. 

 

“Momo is close with Mina. Mina is a cheerleader.” Sana begins. “Jihyo is also close with Nayeon and Chewy, who are cheerleaders, too. It’s not that I don’t trust them, but more of I just wanna lessen the risk of this reaching Nancy or anyone of her monkey messengers.”

 

“A valid point, considering what you want to get from this deal.” Dahyun agrees.

 

“Does Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon know?” 

 

“Yes.” Dahyun pressed her lips together, her eyes staying on Sana to gauge her reaction. Sana just puckers her lips and nods at the confession. She said no words, but she seemed to be satisfied, but Dahyun wasn’t. She needed to explain. “I’m not as popular as you are, Sana. I need someone I can trust just in case this doesn’t work according to our plan.” 

 

“You don’t trust me?” Sana asks, her eyes fixed on her plate while she poked the last piece of chicken. A moment of silence once again, and Sana feels Dahyun’s gaze staying with her every move.

 

“Well,” Dahyun looks at Sana’s eyes and smiles a bit. “You wouldn’t be here if I don’t.”

 

Sana chuckles, flashing Dahyun a smile in reply. Remembering what they talked about this morning in Dahyun’s room, she might have learned a thing or two (actually, a list) that Dahyun won’t be sharing too freely. So for what it's worth, she accepts Dahyun’s answer with a nod.

 

“Do I really need to be your lock screen, though?” Dahyun asks shyly, pulling Sana from her thoughts. The quarterback quickly glances down on her phone and laughs. It was a picture of Dahyun that she took earlier. The one when they had ice cream. 

 

“She’s my girlfriend. Mind your damn business.” 

  


///

  


“Talk to me, Chae.” Jeongyeon greets as soon as she logs into the party line. 

 

“She hasn’t replied to me yet.” Chaeyoung yawns but queues their party in the battle anyway. “Are we going to pull an all nighter today?” 

 

“That entirely depends on how Dahyun’s day went.” Jeongyeon puts down her controller, hangs her head back against the chair, and swivelled around. “Text her again.” 

 

“Alrightie.” Chaeyoung complies as she watched her screen turn into the loading phase.

  


///

  


“I’m just saying, we can be their role models.” Sana checked herself out in the mirror as Dahyun finished up clearing the tables. 

 

Dinner was pretty easy to say the least. The food was good and the conversations ranged from school, to what kind of animal can beat a dinosaur in a one on one combat, then more important things like what they need to do first in their Guide to the Infinite Year.

 

“So you want them waking up together half naked?” Dahyun joins Sana in front of the mirror by the hallway, making sure that she still looks good when she makes the 20-step journey to Sana’s Wrangler Jeep.

 

“If it’s as consensual as ours then yes.” Sana walks out of the door and turns to Dahyun.

 

“Have you hit your head bad with that ladder?” They both laughed. “Leave Minjoo and Yujin alone.”

 

“I’m just saying, we can be real mentors here.” Sana continues to make her point, whatever point that is.

 

“Of course! Because we have the perfect set up.” Dahyun says sarcastically. She holds Sana by her shoulders and pushes her to the jeep. “Go, it’s late.” 

 

“It’s just 9PM!”

 

“That maybe so,” Dahyun watched Sana fiddle with her keys, obviously having no plans to get into the car just yet. “But we’ve been hanging out for like the whole day.” 

 

“Have we?” Sana chuckles as she checked her watch. It only dawned on her on how long they’ve been around each other. “Oh, yeah. Wow. That went by fast.” 

 

“Yup. And I’m pretty sure that our friends want to hear from us too. And your parents.” 

 

“Why do you always sound like a goddamn council president?” Sana groaned.

 

“Because I am one?” Dahyun stretches her arms up.

 

“Just check if the lights in my room turn on. You should see it all the way from your window.” Sana opens her car door. 

 

“Ugh. Almost forgot we’re almost neighbors.” Dahyun rolls her eyes, but also remembers which house to look for when she peeks out the window.

 

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it.” Sana scoffs. “Anyway, don’t I get a kiss for goodbye?” 

 

“My place is perfectly safe and private.” Dahyun wiggles her brows. “So, no.” 

 

“I’m telling you now, Dahyun. Practice makes perfect so we better start now.” Sana teased back

 

“You wish.” Dahyun shakes her head, but also takes a step closer to Sana just the same. She opens her arms wide and stays there. “Tell you what, though. You get to have a hug as a sign of my undying love and devotion.” 

 

“This is why no one dates you.” Sana groaned in between laughters as she snaked her arms around Dahyun’s slender waist. It was a surprisingly pleasant feeling, Sana thought. Afterall, they have been a bit too hostile to each other the past week and the feeling of Dahyun’s arms around her neck brought her back to how she felt during Jennie’s party. 

 

“I’ll catch you later, babe.” Sana’s voice came as a muffle when her lips were buried inside the thick fabric of Dahyun’s powder blue pullover. 

 

“Message me when you get home.” 

 

“I luf you.” Sana giggles. 

 

“What?” Dahyun pulls her head back and laughs with Sana, her wrist still hanging around Sana’s neck.

 

“It’s a way for you to say you love me without actually saying it. It will be handy in the days to come, especially in front of people. Trust me.” Sana explains a matter of factly. Dahyun just locked her eyes with Sana, trying to convince herself the possibility of her saying this in public. The short answer is most definitely probable, because it’s just the start of the year and the days of pretending hasn’t even started yet.

 

“Fine. I luf you, too.” Dahyun rolls her eyes and finally steps out from the hug. Sana laughs at her adorable effort, then with some last words of goodbye, she drives away, disappearing down the street and leaving Dahyun all alone in the driveway. It was quiet for a little while, then when she felt the cold wind brush against her bare legs, she knew she had to get in.

 

There was a sudden feeling of emptiness in her hands and it was only then she remembers that she haven’t checked Chaeyoung’s reply nor did she reply to her dad. He must be on his way home now and she thinks it’s best to check up on him as well. 

 

The day has been good so far, Dahyun thinks. Or maybe she just thought too soon. Because when she opened her phone, she literally felt her heart sink into the deepest pits of hell. Her heart clenching in ways that she thinks is only possible in the face of death. Or a school paper graded with C.

 

**[Appa]**

Sana still there with you?

 

**[Dahyun]**

She’s fine, Chae.

I mean, we were in my room most of the time.

Nothing sexual or anything. Which is good.

Then we went out for a bit.

We’re just eating now.

Like how normal couples do. LOL ugh

 

**[Appa]**

Okay, so let me get this straight. 

You just invited your girlfriend into our house and then went out with her on a date? 

All of that without telling me?

 

“Dahyun,” she tells herself, quite calmly. A soft laughter bursting out from her lips. “Dahyun, Dahyun, Dahyun. President of the Student Council.” She drops herself down on the couch and buries her face in one of the throw pillows. 

 

Then a squirrel scampers away when it heard the loudest muffled scream ever.

  


*********

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
>  
> 
> Today song: Kiss by Pale Waves
> 
> Q: How many gg's are you putting in?  
> A: Not sure yet but we'll have a lot of minor characters!
> 
> Q: Who's hurting Chaeyoung?!   
> A: Chaeyoung is all of us in our less popular phases so you know who.
> 
>  
> 
> Q: Will there be other ships than SaiDa?   
> A: OF COURSE! SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY! 
> 
> Trivia: One of my friends is actually neighbors with his girlfriend but it's the other gated village. Imagine being neighbors while not being neighbors. 
> 
> Sorry for the rather hefty chapter but it would seem to be like this from here on. Thank you so much everyone for giving this fic a chance,  I hope that you're having fun with it so far! Thank you to Tokyobee again for making sure we're doing things right and for the support that everyone has been giving. You guys are the reason why we do what we do. See you next update! 


	5. We Are Not Friends (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a misfire from the president, Dahyun has no choice but to go with the flow from here on. Meanwhile, Chaeyoung finds herself hanging out with the most unlikely person ever.

 

**We Are Not Friends (Part 1)**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

 

 _“Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying you’re friends is easy. Being friends is not.”_ \- Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List (David Levithan)

  
  


///

  
  


**@NewsFromDetention** 23m

At least the President now has to do something other than the Council. If ya know what I mean. (wink)

 

> **@kmdhyun 12m**
> 
> If it wasn’t for the First Amendment, I would’ve slaughtered you.
> 
>  
> 
> **@NewsFromDetention** 12m
> 
> You just can’t stop being a nerd, can you? You just got the quarterback! You were doing so well already! I was rooting for you!
> 
>  
> 
> **@NoJamJeong** 11m
> 
> HAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS WHY I HATE THE FACT THAT CHAEYOUNG DOESN’T HAVE ANY SNS ACCOUNTS!
> 
>  
> 
> **@AtteridgeGossiper** 11m
> 
> Who knows. Maybe it’s all just virgin play. (wink)
> 
>  
> 
> **@NewsFromDetention** 10m
> 
> Who knows. Maybe you’re jealous. Now, go report on some pumpkin spice frappe shortage.

 

 **@ChewyChou** 10m

My car is making a funny sound. I think something’s wrong. (worry)

 

> **@ImImNayeon** 7m
> 
> In my extensive car knowledge, if it’s saying “You’re a bad driver.” over and over, it means it’s working fine. (smile)
> 
>  
> 
> **@NoJam** 6m
> 
> Wow.. Nayeon has an extensive knowledge on something? And I thought miracles don’t exist!
> 
>  
> 
> **@ImImNayeon** 6m
> 
> Do you have a crush on me, Yoo Jeongyeon? Because I’m telling you now. It’s a no.
> 
>  
> 
> **@PenguinMyoui** 4m
> 
> Have it fixed! This is dangerous!
> 
>  
> 
> **@ChewyChou** 3m
> 
> The car or Nayeon?
> 
>  
> 
> **@PenguinMyoui** 3m
> 
> Be realistic. Focus on the fixable! The car, of course!
> 
>  
> 
> **@KingJB** 2m
> 
> You can ride on me anytime, baby. (wink)
> 
>  

**@ChewyChou** 2m

MAJOR YIKES! (barf)

  
  


///

  
  


Dahyun and her dad found themselves sitting on both ends of the couch with this awkward space between them. Mr. Kim was leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees to prop himself up, while, Dahyun has her hands clasped over her legs, looking everywhere but her dad.

 

Dahyun had a lot of plans this evening, and none of those included having this conversation. And it would’ve been easy to just admit to her dad what the real score is, but she knew that he’s focused on an entirely different matter judging the way his face receded into this calm, thoughtful silence.

 

“When were you planning on telling me?” he finally breaks the claustrophobic silence.

 

“I.. uhh..” Dahyun takes a deep breath, settling to divert the topic. “About Sana?”

 

Her father just chuckles quietly on Dahyun’s attempt to play dumb, but raising her for years without her mom has made him a bit more perceptive, if not wiser.

 

“Dahyun.” he finally turns, but meets her daughter’s gaze with a raised brow. Dahyun takes the clue, looking down on her hands all of a sudden.

 

“I..” she looks at him once more, trying to gauge his reactions despite the dimly lit living room. “I haven’t really planned that far down. I didn’t even know that I’d have a girlfriend.” she says, hoping that her chuckle doesn’t sound so forced.

 

“With the amount of work you put in school, I honestly thought the same and yet, here we are.” her dad finally sits up and scoots a bit closer to Dahyun. “Were you scared?”

 

Dahyun looks up and nods at what seemed to be a rhetorical question. There was a brief moment of silence that told Dahyun it was a real question, so she lets out a sigh as she clasped her hands tighter.

 

“You know how my uncles and aunts are.” she says.

 

“Yeah.” her dad nods in agreement but hangs his head low in what Dahyun could only figure as shame. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Appa.” Dahyun puts her hand over her father’s lap. It was unfair that her dad feels this kind of embarrassment for something that he didn’t do. Mr. Kim has always been supportive of Dahyun, especially when her mom mentioned about her being gay.

 

“No, really.” he puts his hand over the one that was already settled on his lap. “Your mom.” he forces out a chuckle. “She’s better than me in this. In being parent. She knew you better than I did. The real you.”

 

“Appa, don’t say that.” Dahyun frowns, trying to fight the guilt. “You know that I’m always thankful for what you do for us.”

 

“It’s just that,” he made an audible sigh. “Maybe, I made it hard for you to tell me these kinds of things. Things that are important to you.” he explains. “If it’s your aunts and uncles, then let me worry about them.”

 

“This is why I haven’t thought of telling it to you.” Dahyun’s hands wrap around the hand that was resting on her father’s lap. She scoots in closer. Close enough for her to let go of her dad’s and pull him into a shoulder hug. “I don’t want you worrying about me.”

 

“Dahyun, honey. I’m a parent. What do you expect me to do?” Mr. Kim finally breaks out a smile. In his defense, worrying is exactly what parents are supposed to do. “Please. Let me be your dad.”

 

It felt unfair. Not to Dahyun, but to her dad. He shouldn’t feel guilty for something that he never did but he does so anyway, for Dahyun’s sake. He’s just one person, but he’ll make sure that in this small world that they both call home, Dahyun will feel safe.

 

“I’m sorry.” Dahyun pulls her dad closer to her side, then she rests her cheek on his shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry too, honey.” his dad says, and in reply, he rests his temple against Dahyun’s crown. The room finally descends into a comfortable silence where a father and a daughter were content on just having the luxury of this moment.

 

Dahyun doesn’t know what her dad is thinking right now but she has a good feeling that it’s somewhere along: Only if your mom was here.

 

But she isn’t, and they would just have to make things work just like how they always do ever since she had passed on. Tomorrow, they would both wake up to a new dynamic. A father to a gay daughter, and a daughter with a father who’s most probably new to this kind of parenting. But that would be a mission for tomorrow. For now, a father just wants to be a father.

 

“So,” he begins in between a sudden laughter. “The star quarterback huh?”

 

“Appa!” Dahyun pulls back and slaps her dad’s arm. There will be more explaining in the days to come, but for her plans to work out, it’s best that only Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon know about the real score.

 

“I’m just saying! You are an achiever but I never thought you’d be this kind of achiever!”

  
  


///

  
  


That night, Dahyun got into bed and crawls out towards her window. She looks out into the night and past the neighborhood boundaries, searching for the house downhill. The one that Sana pointed at this morning.

 

Dahyun smiles when she saw that the lights were still on in Sana’s room. It reminded her that she hasn’t replied to her message when she alerted her that she got home.

 

She dialed Sana’s number and sat down crossed legs on her bed, her eyes looking towards Sana’s window. It didn’t even take three rings when an annoyingly sprightly voice answered on the other line.

 

“Took you long enough.” Sana laughs.

 

“You miss me too much too quickly. Let me breathe, would you?” Dahyun banters back.

 

“What kind of shit did you get yourself into this time?”

 

Dahyun just smiles at the sound of her voice. She lets out a small chuckle on the irony of Sana’s words. It would’ve been a good moment for her to rant about her bad luck, and how it all started when she woke up half naked beside Sana but she settles for a softer voice and a heart that just took in whatever this moment could give.

 

“I’m looking at you.” she says in soft laughter. It was a bit funny when the curtains on Sana’s side were suddenly ripped open and now, Dahyun was looking towards a familiar silhouette. By the looks of it, Sana seemed to just stepped out from the shower.

 

Sana was still rubbing hard on her hair with a towel when she spoke, and Dahyun just knew that Sana was smiling.

 

“I’m looking at you, too.” she giggles. “Your dad’s back? I actually felt worried leaving you there alone.”

 

“Yeah,” Dahyun takes in a breath and smiles. “Just a few minutes after you left.”

 

“That’s good.” Sana nods, and Dahyun sees it. No matter how little it looked like from the distance between them. “Did he say anything about me?”

 

Dahyun raises a brow, wishing that she’s face to face with Sana just so she could see how she fished for compliments.

 

“Well..” Dahyun trails and drags, then she stayed silent. A beat passes, but not unnoticed. The silence that followed stuck out like a sore thumb and Dahyun chuckles when she heard Sana groan from the other line. She sees Sana dig her fingers into the crown of her head in frustration.

 

“Come on!” Sana screams in between laughters.

 

“It’s more of what he said to me than to you, actually.” Dahyun relents, much to Sana’s relief. “He said that I was an achiever for dating the star quarterback.”

 

“Yeah, you got that right.” Sana says smugly quite proud about the approval that she was not supposed to get. At least not yet. Then, it comes down like a cold shower. “Wait, what?”

 

Dahyun laughed when Sana caught up.

 

“And also, he said that you should be good to me. He knows where you live, just in case you’re thinking of something really stupid.” Dahyun warns, and with it, the unceremonious goodbye. She pulls her curtains together and drops into bed, pretending to not hear Sana’s screams and demands.

 

“How did he know! Dahyun! Dahyun why did you close your curtains!”

 

“See you Monday, baby.” Dahyun taunts, with Sana still demanding for answers.

 

“Dahyun! I swear to god if you hang up!”

 

“I luf you!” Dahyun giggles then the conversation ends with a beep. It was tempting to look out to Sana’s window and witness how she loses her mind, but with how things ended, Dahyun figures that it was time to call her friends.

 

As of the first Saturday of the academic year, 10:07 PM EST, Atteridge Football Captain Minatozaki Sana is now officially dating Atteridge Student Council President Kim Dahyun.

  
  


///

  
  


**[Dubudahyun]:**

Everyone up for a bedtime story?

 

**[Chaechae]:**

She liiiiiivesss!!

 

**[Jeonggay]:**

Is the story scary like your social life?

 

**[Dubudahyun]:**

I take that as a no then! :)

But I should say, my dad now knows about Sana and me.

Good night!

 

**[Chaechae]:**

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

 

**[Jeonggay]:**

YOU DON’T TELL SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND LEAVE!

 

**[Dubudahyun]:**

I was about to share but not with that attitude Jeongyeon :)

 

**[Chaechae]:**

OH COME ON!

JEONGYEON FIX THIS OR I’LL

TIE YOU LIKE FUCKING PRETZEL!

 

 **[Jeonggay]** :

I was just joking!

I want a bedtime story!

DAHYUN COME BACK HERE!

  
  
  


///

  
  


“Did you see her during the muster?” Nancy ponders, staring up at the ceiling while she laid down on her bed.

 

“No, not really.” Yeonwoo shrugs, trying her best to look like she’s not affected.

 

“She was looking at me before she announced she was dating Dahyun.”

 

“Jesus, babe. Let her go!” Yeonwoo almost screams. “Why are you so bothered by this? Do you still have feelings for her?”

 

“What did you say?” Nancy says in a sinister calm and it was more than enough for Yeonwoo to choke on her tone.

 

“Babe, I’m just saying,” her girlfriend tames down all of a sudden. “You shouldn’t care if she’s dating or not.”

 

“The thing is, I get to tell people who they are in this school. I didn’t break her heart just so she could date around again. Do you understand?” Nancy asks but the questions sounded more of a warning. “Now, find a way to get to one of her friends.”

 

“This is trouble.” Yeonwoo dismisses.

 

“But you love me, right?” Nancy rolls and crawls over Yeonwoo. “You promised you’d do everything I want.”

 

Then there goes the treacherous doe eyes and that soft charm, and the fingernail that grazed on Yeonwoo’s inner thigh. She shivered at the touch, feeling her body betray her resolve.

 

“Fine.” she surrenders, “Who do you want to get first?”

  
  


///

  
  


Chaeyoung has been scarce with words. In between looking down on their worksheets and asking questions, Chaeyoung had been awfully scarce with words for the past half hour.

 

Tzuyu would’ve been okay with this because it still gets the job done, but she can’t help but feel a bit dejected at the same time. There was an obvious wall between them, and even in its invisibility, it would seem that the only things that could pass through are problem set questions, single syllable affirmatives, and the colors red and blue.

 

“Tube 3?” Chaeyoung asks without even looking up at her lab partner.

 

There was a part of Tzuyu that told her to not give the answer right away if it meant forcing Chaeyoung to break the ice. But common knowledge taken from their first encounter would suggest that it might be a bad idea.

 

“Red.” Tzuyu surrenders and just watched Chaeyoung write down the answer on their worksheets.

 

In the short moment that her attention wandered off, Tzuyu kind of envied how the other people in their table seemed to get along just fine.

 

There’s Jeongyeon and Nayeon, where Tzuyu swore that the band girl was just out there to annoy the shit out of her cheerleader friend.

 

“Tube 4?” Nayeon asks.

 

“Blue.” Jeongyeon answers in confidence, but Nayeon only looks at her with mistrust as if Jeongyeon was shit-talking her answers for far too many times.

 

“What? It’s blue!” Jeongyeon repeats, sounding like she’s not gonna say more.

 

Nayeon rolls her eyes and proceeds to write their answers but stops midway when Jeongyeon tries hard to stifle her laughter.

 

“Blue is what I would’ve written if the paper wasn’t red.” Jeongyeon wiggles her eyebrows.

 

“Jeongyeon!” Nayeon grits her teeth. “Is it blue or is it red?!”

 

“Red!” Jeongyeon answers, trying her best to laugh as quietly as she can.

 

“I will kill you and your one brain cell. Tube 5?”

 

“I mean, red is what I would’ve said if — ow!” a pen bounces off the side of Jeongyeon’s head.

 

Meanwhile, Sana and Dahyun seemed to be almost done with the activity. Tzuyu noticed the quarterback doodle something on Dahyun’s notebook. The president was still busy with the litmus strips, but if the moment allows, she would encourage Sana’s antics. She’ll laugh a bit, shake her head, draw something in response, then it will be the both of them giggling.

 

“You’re stupid, you know that?” Dahyun chuckles as she rolls her eyes.

 

When their collaborative artwork turned out to be something dumb, Sana would give up the doodling and helps Dahyun with the experiment.

 

“Bet.” Sana makes a dome with her hands and covers the strips as soon as Dahyun smeared it with a substance. “Blue or red?”

 

“What do I get if I answer correctly?” Dahyun beams and leans on the table, obviously interested.

 

“You get one point.” Sana establishes the impromptu rules of the impromptu game. “Best of five. Winner gets a post-dated treat minimum of $10.”

 

“Are you crazy?” Dahyun protests, making Sana much more eager.

 

“If the prize is cheap, then what’s the point? $10 treat from me though.” Sana challenges. “Come on.”

 

“Hrmmm.” Dahyun snarls at the tempting offer. “Fine. Red.”

 

Sana pries her hands slowly, and Dahyun leans in to take a peek. She does a small dorky celebratory dance right after, which Sana takes as a defeat for round one.

 

“Red! Damn, okay. One point.” Sana sighs and readies her hands over the next litmus strip. “Smear the next. I get first guess.”

 

The game was silly, but still, Sana and Dahyun just showed that they can function as girlfriends and lab partners who can make stupid bets out of nothing. Meanwhile, Tzuyu wanted to jump out of the window because this activity is too boring and her partner is too ‘diplomatic’.

 

“Tube 4?” Chaeyoung asks.

 

Tzuyu doesn’t see Chaeyoung as much around school. But in the rare times that she does, Chaeyoung is with her council friends and would always be laughing to some joke or making fun of Dahyun for some reason. She’d always assumed that Chaeyoung is the fun type, so getting a total opposite treatment is throwing her a bit off balance. Especially that she has lived most of her high school life where people are nicer to her than normal.

 

“Tzuyu.” Chaeyoung calls out sternly. Tzuyu snaps herself back to reality and found herself a bit panicking. Did Chaeyoung say something? Has she been out of her head for a couple of minutes? Shit.

 

She reeled herself in, looking around what tube number they’re in. And in the middle of searching, thinking, and remembering, she whips her hand out accidentally. There was a shriek, a panicked gasp, and some clattering. One of their setups toppled down on their worksheets, drenching them in different substances. Some of it got onto Chaeyoung’s clothes too, but instead of saving herself, Chaeyoung quickly takes both of Tzuyu’s hands and lifts them away from the damage, even if they’re both wearing lab gloves.

 

“We’re okay!” Chaeyoung calls out to the class to stop the event from escalating. She takes a deep breath, and looks at her partner. “You okay? You were out of action for a moment there.”

 

“Yeah.” Tzuyu bites her lip in a mix of frustration and embarrassment. “I’m so sorry!”

 

Chaeyoung finally lets go and it was only then that the cheerleader noticed that her lab partner was holding her hands. It was a break from their usual diplomacy, but only because the situation called for it. If anything, at least Tzuyu knows that being this cold isn’t really Chaeyoung’s default attitude.

 

“Jeong, they’re looking at us. Make a joke.” Chaeyoung mumbles to her seatmate as she scrambled to fix their stuff. Mr. White was walking towards them with some rags and maybe some scolding, but thankfully, it never came. Jeongyeon was quick with her mouth.

 

“If our worksheets are involved in some sort of accident, do we get everything as bonus points instead? Literally asking for a friend.” Jeongyeon asks Mr. White who was now standing by their lab table. The class laughs at her dumb (but somehow expected) question, and their teacher just shakes his head.

 

“Both of you alright?” he asks calmly, then looks at Chaeyoung. “Hydrogen dioxide. Dangerous stuff.”

 

Tzuyu tenses up and looks down on the sizeable smear on her lab partner’s thin shirt. It didn’t take long for Chaeyoung to notice Tzuyu’s reaction and she decides to put her out of her misery of worrying too much.

 

“It’s water.” Chaeyoung smiles, and Tzuyu was there to see it. “He literally said water.”

 

“Just be careful next time.” Mr. White warns cooly, mostly satisfied that Chaeyoung got the joke. “Refill your tubes then finish the activity. You can get new worksheets in front.”

 

Chaeyoung volunteered to do the rest of the activity this time, with Tzuyu replacing her in the task of answering the worksheets. And while the small ruckus broke them off from their established dynamics, they found themselves dancing to its mundane tune once more right after everything subsided.

 

In the end, they just swapped places. Swapped who asks the questions, and swapped who responds with the one word answers.

 

“Red.” Chaeyoung says, then they’re off to the next question.

 

The class ends, and the six of them were the last to leave the room. Nayeon was pretty much annoyed that she and Jeongyeon finished last, while Sana reiterated her rights for the post-dated treat. Dahyun just made faces as Sana kept on taunting her.

 

“Wait.” Tzuyu grabs Chaeyoung by the wrist and pulls her off to the side.

 

“Yeah?” Chaeyoung pulls her hand gently, and Tzuyu had no choice but to let go.

 

“I’m really sorry about a while ago.” Tzuyu winces. “I didn’t mean to zone out like that. I’m not messing up on purpose. It’s just that..”

 

“It’s fine.” Chaeyoung interrupts with a smile, or at least a convincing form of it. Tzuyu knew better, though. Tight lips curved up, steady eyes, and raised brows. It was forced. “Really. It’s fine. We finished, got good marks, and we’re still both alive. That’s all there is to it.”

 

“Yeah.” Tzuyu nods, returning the smile. And even if Chaeyoung was distracted on how her partner’s eyes turned into upside down U’s, and her dimples sinking cutely in her cheek (damn, that’s a pretty smile), Chaeyoung knew that Tzuyu just surrendered.

 

Tzuyu is not used to the feeling of being unliked. With her pretty face and cute laugh, the world has always been much more polite. But it was not Chaeyoung’s responsibility to make her feel liked either. Chaeyoung’s only task is to make sure they both pass the subject, and in that respect, she’s doing more than enough.

 

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung nods as well, tucking her hands inside her jacket pockets.

 

Tzuyu wanted to say more. Ask if she ever did something to Chaeyoung. Ask why she’s being treated differently, but alas, a voice calls out through the crowd.

 

“Chae! My child!” Jeongyeon calls out from down the hall. “Faster, you and Chewy. Would you please?”

 

They joined their friends at the end of the hall, only for the group to break up into their respective cliques. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu both stood awkwardly behind their friends, quite thankful that they have four people between them.

 

“She was rewriting our worksheets!” Jeongyeon laughs. “How was that my fault! You volunteered for that job!”

 

“If you gave the answers properly then our worksheets won’t end up like a kid’s refrigerator art in a horror movie!” Nayeon stabs Jeongyeon’s chest with her finger, then she turns to Dahyun. “With all due respect, Dahyun, I cannot begin to understand how you stand Jeongyeon.”

 

“I’m actually asking myself the same damn thing.” Dahyun sighs, then an arm wraps around her shoulder. She felt herself being pulled closer to a tight side hug, and when she looks up, Sana just gave her a look that says ‘What?’

 

Right. Coupley things in public. And yes, it was Sana’s perfume again.

 

“We finished! We just didn’t get there on time but we finished! Jeez! Live a little!” Jeongyeon chuckles and shakes her head. “This, my friends, is why she doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

 

“Yeah, because I have a girlfriend who loves me!” Nayeon spits out fast in her defense. Maybe too fast that it was too late to take back the sudden confession. Jeongyeon was taken aback too, but before she could even pounce and use this against her lab partner, Nayeon growled at her. “Ugh! I hate you! Come on, guys! I’d die first than be late because of Jeongyeon.”

 

Nayeon just tugs Tzuyu by the wrist, and starts to walk off. At the last moment, Tzuyu turns to Chaeyoung to give her a small wave. It was a shy goodbye, but it seemed fitting and polite. Chaeyoung settles to an awkward open palm goodbye, stretches her four fingers out in reply, with the thumb still folded over the strap of her bag. There was the forced smile once again, but Tzuyu takes it anyway.

 

Meanwhile, Sana leaves a kiss on Dahyun’s temple. Dahyun winces at the contact and pulls her head away, much to Sana’s amusement. Dahyun pretending not to like her girlfriend’s advances paints a funny picture, and maybe Sana is okay with that for the time being.

 

“See you later, babe.” Sana whispers as she brings Dahyun closer to her side. She lets her go after a good squeeze, then she follows the cheerleaders down the hallway. There was the smug smile again when they parted, and Dahyun wished that she doesn’t do that too often. Her heart hasn’t learned to cope with that yet.

 

“Keep her on a leash, Dahyun.” Nayeon turns to the president once more. “Before she bites someone and infect them with whatever she has.” Nayeon sneers, hoping for the last word.

 

“We tried. Nothing worked.” Dahyun only shrugged.

 

When the three athletes disappeared around the hallway, Dahyun and her friends started to make their way to their next class as well. The mood is familiar again with just the three of them walking together side by side.

 

“Why do you do that?” Chaeyoung turns to Jeongyeon.

 

“What?”

 

“Pulling Nayeon’s pigtails like that. It’s not entirely a good idea.” Chaeyoung asks.

 

“Relax. Their clique is fine.” Jeongyeon waves her hand over her lips. “Besides, it’s fun throwing her off like that. Not her usual human interaction. How about you?”

 

“What about me?” Chaeyoung pulls her bag strap up her shoulder.

 

“Why do you treat Chewy like that?” Jeongyeon glances at the smaller girl beside her.

 

“We’re lab partners. We got the job done. She shouldn’t expect more than that.”

 

“Because?”

 

“Because we are not friends.” Chaeyoung speaks with conviction.

 

“The aim, Chaeyoung.” Jeongyeon warns again but said nothing more after that. Instead, a small smirk forms on her lips and Chaeyoung didn’t take that all too well.

 

“Dahyun?” Chaeyoung leans forward and turns to the president.

 

“What?”

 

“Maybe Nayeon’s right.” Chaeyoung ponders for a quick moment. “Maybe we should get rid of Jeongyeon.”

  
  


///

  
  


A meeting was called after school, but it wasn’t the kind of meetings that Dahyun organize. With afternoon and Saturday practices looming over the horizon, the girls thought it was necessary to kickstart their diner tradition. Especially now that Sana’s dating Dahyun, and that Nayeon, apparently, has a girlfriend.

 

Sana walked up to the diner with her arms over Jihyo and Momo, only for their formation to break apart when the door was too small to fit three people coming in at the same time. Jihyo and Momo bumped their shoulders on either side of the door frame and it made Nayeon roll her eyes at how stupid they looked.

 

“I swear to god if Nayeon didn’t order for us!” Jihyo immediately called out as they approached their usual booth. The cheerleaders were already settled in. Tzuyu resting her chin on Mina’s shoulder, watching whatever her friend was playing on her phone. Meanwhile, Nayeon looked up from her compact mirror, seemingly annoyed that her attention to her brows needed to be stolen away.

 

“I do not take orders from plebeians.” Nayeon scoffed and made face.

 

“See, Sana?” Jihyo turned to the quarterback with her arms out. “This is exactly why I found it unbelievable when you said she has a girlfriend.”

 

“I said what I heard. Didn’t say it wasn’t bullshit.” Sana scooted inside the booth and took the spot across Nayeon who, in turn, just gave her a disapproving look. “So, you didn’t order yet?”

 

Nayeon just raised a brow and smirked.

 

“Oh, I ordered!” Tzuyu piped in, raising her hand and standing up from her spot to give way to Momo. “This is me telling everyone that I’m not as useless as Nayeon.”

 

“Oh, please.” Nayeon laughed. “For someone who’s useless around her lab partner, you’re making everyone proud!” she points at Tzuyu with gun fingers and a click of her tongue. Tzuyu bares her teeth and poised to lunge at Nayeon, but then again, this is Im Nayeon — the Vice Captain of the Cheer Team — so she just have to sit her ass down for now.

 

“Yeah, whatever happened to you and the AV girl? And what’s with you guys getting all bungled up with the council kids?” Momo plopped down beside Mina, and threw an arm over on Mina’s part of the backrest. Mina to shuffled in her seat for a moment and rested the side of her head on Momo’s shoulder. She’s still engrossed with the phone game while also glad that her position is finally comfortable.

 

“We’re okay. Okay?” Tzuyu rebutts, feeling the need to defend herself. She sits beside Jihyo and rests her chin on the other girl’s shoulder. She takes in a deep breath and sighs. “We’re civil. We get the job done.”

 

“Civil?” Momo said, the word becoming almost unintelligible through the laughter. “Nobody told me you already got divorced!”

 

But Momo’s laughter subsided into a soft giggle when Mina slapped her thigh and looked at Tzuyu’s direction. Mina just smiled and shook her head, telling Tzuyu to have it in her heart to forgive Momo’s stupidity.

 

It didn’t take long enough before they were interrupted when their orders came in. A plate of cheese fries for sharing, a round of yogurt shakes, tuna club sandwiches for Jihyo and Momo. A slice of pie for Tzuyu. Salad for Mina and Nayeon, and a waffle sundae for Sana, which reminded her of a particular ice cream run and maybe the scent of citrus.

 

“God, I’m so gonna miss this starting next week.” Sana held her plate up, admiring the two scoops of vanilla ice cream like they were a piece of art.

 

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Makes me lose my appetite.” Momo groans but still takes a big bite off of her sandwich, much to Mina’s amusement.

 

“Stop being so dramatic!” Jihyo whines and reaches into Momo’s plate.

 

“I will cut that hand off, Jihyo! Bold of you to even think you can steal from me!” Momo growls then goes back to chewing. It’s unfair that Momo could steal food and not share hers, but what’s more unfair is when Mina gets a bite off her sandwich and also gets to try the fries. Jihyo just raises her brows while she pointed at Mina with her eyes.

 

“She likes them plain, okay? Back off.” Momo reasoned out. “So, Nayeon. Who’s the girl?”

 

“There’s no girl.” Nayeon poked a lettuce with her fork.

 

“Oh, we know. We just want you to admit it to us.” Jihyo winked. “There is no possible way that you’d end up with someone.”

 

“Probably because she’s not good in bed. Have you even tried getting laid?” Momo raised her hand up for a high five and the slapping sound that followed might have annoyed Nayeon a bit too much. Of course Jihyo would oblige.

 

“Hey! She said I’m amazing, okay?!” Nayeon almost lunged at Momo, then winced when she realized she stepped right into the bait.

 

“So there is someone!” Momo exclaimed. The others were now reduced into a laughing and nudging mess.

 

“No! There’s no one!” Nayeon desperately defends, all panicky and flustered. “I.. I.. I was just joking! Fuck!”

 

“So who’s the she?” Sana perched her chin over her folded knuckles.

 

“You know what?” Nayeon gritted her teeth and stuffed her reckless mouth with some crispy salad vegetables. “You called it bullshit and you can’t even bring yourself to believe so I’m not gonna tell.”

 

“Well, we can always bet on it.” Momo said smugly, sinking back in her chair. “Let’s see how good you hide, Nayeon. I’ll be taking bets starting tomorrow, girls.”

 

“You’re dumb, you know that?” Nayeon frowned and turned to Mina who was snuggled against Momo’s rib. “Do you know she’s dumb?”

 

Mina nodded enthusiastically at Nayeon before pressing Momo’s cheeks together with her hand. Then she turned Momo’s head to look at her and crinkled her nose. Momo just stuck out her tongue in reply.

 

“Scratch that. You’re both dumb and you deserve each other.” Nayeon groaned, her words forcing the bestfriends to snap out from their bubble. And just like that, Momo and Mina went back to their own devices — Mina with Momo’s fries, and Momo with her sandwich.

 

“So, you won’t be meeting with Dahyun starting next week?” Jihyo chomped on her sandwich.

 

“We’ll figure something out.” Sana shrugged, then carved off a spoonful of ice cream. She didn’t notice the puzzled and curious looks being thrown at her direction, until Mina finally speaks.

 

“Oh, wow. That’s odd.” she says quite calmly as she puts her phone down. She leans over the table, trying to review Sana’s answer. Mina thought that figuring something out together isn’t something that you’d do with a fling. “So you guys are that serious with each other, huh?”

 

“Yeah.” Sana just nods and takes another spoonful from her frozen treat. “I’ve always been serious.” she added, and it was everyone’s turn to adjust their posture away from Sana. “What?!”

 

“What made you date her?” Mina takes a french fry from Momo’s plate and dips it into the half-melted puddle of Sana’s ice cream. Something that Momo taught her.

 

The question takes Sana aback for a moment because she has been used to Momo saying why she shouldn’t. She stirred her yogurt shake and watched as the melted parts mix back into a creamy slurry. It reminded her of her thoughts, and how they seemed to be out of sync but was so easy to put together.

 

“I don’t know, really.” Sana confessed, her eyes still locked on her drink. “She’s just easy to be with. Contrary to popular belief, she’s not as uptight as what people said she was. I could make a fool out of myself and still be friends with her.”

 

“Haven’t you had enough of making a fool out of yourself?” Mina chuckled. “God, still can’t figure out why you went out with Nancy. I always knew you’d fall apart.”

 

“How?” Sana finally stopped stirring and stretched her gaze up to Mina with her head still low. Mina just smiled at the quarterback’s reaction. This was expected everytime Nancy is brought up in the conversation.

 

“Because you weren’t friends.” Mina bobbed her brows. “You jumped the rabbit when she showed her tail. Then, she played you like a fiddle. Cheated on you. Got away with it. Even made you look like a sorry piece of shit while she was at it. She doesn’t even care on where you’d go for college.” Mina enumerated, which prompted Tzuyu and Jihyo to nod in agreement. Mina is usually quiet, but in times that she choose not to, someone’s gonna get a beating from the voice of reason.

 

“I have a feeling that you’ve been waiting all your life to say this to me.” Sana pulls out the plastic straw and pointed at Mina.

 

“Yeah. Someone has to. Plus the fact that you brought her here in our place. Our sacred place, Sana.” there was an obvious tone of frustration and relief in Mina’s voice. “She never belonged here. So, unless this is a replay of Nancy, I suggest that you’d be friends with Dahyun first. Especially since this is her first time in a relationship. I was told she never dated anyone.”

 

Mina’s words reminded Sana of her own. Words that she shared with Dahyun when she felt the president was clamming up for reasons. They can always pretend to be together, but at least they can choose not to pretend to be friends.

 

“We are friends.” Sana said, or at least that’s something that she wanted to believe.

 

“Good.” Mina finally relented. “I think she’s an okay person. Quite different from your taste, but okay nonetheless. I’d pay good money to see your heart broken by the likes of Dahyun.”

 

“That’s not gonna happen.” Sana smirked. “Not in a million years.”

 

“Please don’t tell me you’re just using her for some revenge play. Everyone saw what you did in the muster.” Mina finally slouched back into Momo’s arms It somehow worried her that Sana’s response came as a shrug, nonchalantly licking off the ice cream on the back of her spoon and a quick smile. “Sana?”

 

“Why would I do that? We’re a thing, remember?” Sana winked, then joined the group to laugh at Nayeon and the newly established subject for a bet, leaving Mina a bitter taste of her answer.

  
  


///

  
  


**[Minatozaki Sana]:**

Hey! Doing anything on Saturday? :)

 

**[Kim Dahyun]:**

It depends.

 

**[Minatozaki Sana]:**

On what?

 

**[Kim Dahyun]:**

If you’re gonna ask me out then I’m busy.

 

**[Minatozaki Sana]:**

I’m your girlfriend. I’m immune to that.

 

**[Kim Dahyun]:**

Sorry. Council duties. Boohoo! :(

 

**[Minatozaki Sana]:**

Immune. Boohoo!

 

**[Kim Dahyun]:**

That’s what you get for dating a council member.

And a president at that.

 

**[Minatozaki Sana]:**

Well, I have rights, Ms. President.

I have girlfriend rights!

 

**[Kim Dahyun]:**

No. What you have is Saturday Practice.

 

**[Minatozaki Sana]:**

Which means, we’re not gonna see each other on weekends.

 

**[Kim Dahyun]:**

Hmmm :(

Let me think of reasons why I won’t like that.

Okay. None. :)

 

**[Minatozaki Sana]:**

Immune. Also, girlfriend rights. :)

  
  


///

  
  


It almost 6PM when the council adjourned for the day. Saturday meetings aren’t too bad considering that, for most of them, this is the closest thing that they could get for a social life.

 

Jeongyeon has her band. Chaeyoung has her video games and other side jobs. Dahyun has the council, and on top of that, she now has a girlfriend to maintain. A girlfriend who is, in fact, actually immune, since they are co-conspirators to whatever they have established from the past several weeks.

 

And so, to honor their agreement, and also to get to her ride home (Sana said she’ll drive her), Dahyun found herself staring out to the field where the team is separated by uniform colors. It didn’t take too long for her to find Sana because everybody in school knows who Number 12 is.

 

Number 12 calls a “hut!”, then the scrimmage line crash into each other. Number 12 steps back, jogging quickly in place as her eyes followed the straggler who slipped through the defense. A good arm, a good aim, and quick thinking — the ball finds itself in the hands of Number 64 who gets tackled ten yards away from the end zone.

 

The play resets with Sana clapping her hands at the gain they just made.

 

Dahyun would be lying if she said she doesn’t enjoy watching Sana play. It’s like saying Captain America isn’t hot when he’s beating up the bad guys, and that statement is sitting dangerously between a lie and a blasphemy. And speaking of captains, Dahyun knew that Sana has always been the prime candidate for that team position. Dahyun could even remember the match she watched during sophomore year when the quarterback got into the last quarter of the semi-finals match and led two crucial plays.

 

They never won against Westford during the championship, but it became Sana’s tagline when she was handed down the captaincy: We will take what is ours.

 

“Hut!” Number 12 screamed. She takes two steps back while her defenders scrambled to stop the offensive line from collapsing into her. She holds the ball up beside her ear, scanning the field on possible gaps. Two offensive tackles breaks off from the scrimmage to score a blitz, but Sana sees Number 64 in between two defenders.

 

The pass was quick and solid, with Momo crashing down on the end zone. Coach Lee puts both hands up in the air, coupled with a long whistle. The game ends, with Sana’s team celebrating, and Dahyun thinks Sana can actually realize her tagline.

 

“Your girlfriend is good.” a quiet voice speaks from behind, and with the thoughts of football and Sana, it was only then that Dahyun remembered that she was still getting used to the set-up.

 

Dahyun turns to where the voice came from and saw Mina in her thin white shirt and tight blue jeans. It’s strange seeing a student up in the bleachers with her on a Saturday but it’s not really Dahyun’s business to ask around.

 

“Makes you wonder how she ended up with me, right?” Dahyun chuckles and looks back into the field when Mina took a seat beside her. They both watched as the team gathered around the coach and Sana, and even with the distance, they could both see that the players were listening intently to the quarterback who’s wearing a black baseball cap. Dahyun thought, if the team was ran by a president, Minatozaki Sana was the unchallenged leader of the pack.

 

“Well, that’s what everyone is thinking.” Mina said, and she knew that somehow Dahyun respected that honesty when she asked a question back.

 

“Do you?”

 

“Not really.” Mina tucked her hair behind her ear, her eyes still looking down on the huddle of players (but mostly just Momo, Number 64). “It’s sudden, unexpected, and random, but not totally impossible.”

 

It felt disarming having this conversation with Mina. Most especially that Dahyun felt that this is the first proper conversation she had with the cheerleader. They know each other, they see each other, but with their positions in the High School Jungle food chain, there aren’t really any good chances to be friends.

 

The irony of it was not lost as Dahyun’s eyes traced on empty bleachers around the well lit field. Spotting her sitting with Mina is as easy as spotting a wine stain on white linens. But here she is, adjusting to the fact that Sana has rights, which is by far the better irony.

 

In between Dahyun’s thoughts and the silence, Mina turns slightly to the president and smirks. “Who’s idea was it? Sana’s? Because if it was hers, it may not be too late to walk away now.”

 

“Ours.” Dahyun answers honestly. “It’s our decision. But if anyone asks you who confessed first, tell them it was me.”

 

“Why?” Mina laughs, obviously amused at the very specific instruction.

 

“I have her image to protect, captain and campus sweetheart and all.” Dahyun explained. “Me being with her is a mess in itself already.”

 

“What do you mean?” Mina asked, her brows creasing together.

 

“Come on, Mina.” Dahyun sighed. “It’s not like everyone in the locker rooms are enthusiastic about us. About how she’s suddenly hanging out with the baptized nerds or how she replaced the head cheerleader with the head party pooper.” Dahyun went on her self-deprecation and Mina just listened intently as she took in how different Dahyun was from all of Sana’s ex lovers.

 

It was quite strange hearing all of this from Dahyun when in the locker rooms, Mina would hear Dahyun’s name whispered together with slut or whore. Or that she’s just putting on a facade of goody two-shoes when she’s actually deprived. All of this should not concern Dahyun now but seeing how she placed Sana first in this conversation is something that struck Mina.

 

“We’ll just have to go on quietly about this, then maybe decide what will happen to us once we graduate.” Dahyun ended with a short smile and a nod.

 

“Interesting.” Mina squinted her eyes a bit. She stared at Dahyun long enough for the other girl to notice, then Dahyun glanced at her before looking back at the field.

 

“What is?” Dahyun says between a forced chuckle.

 

“Of all the girls that Sana dated,” the corner of Mina’s lips curve up into a smile. “You are the most interesting.”

 

“Good thing or a bad thing?” Dahyun hides her sudden curiosity behind an unsuspecting smile.

 

“We’ll see about that. In the meantime, there’s your girl.” Mina turned her gaze towards the player who was climbing up the steps towards them. Sana was still in her uniform (armor, sweat and all) when she finally reached the two girls.

 

“Hey! You came!” Sana’s eyes lit up, suddenly making Dahyun smile a bit more.

 

“You guys done?” Dahyun drops her shoulder casually and looks up as she placed her arm over a small cooler.

 

“Yeah. Water break then we go for cool downs. Then we’re done.” Sana said in between breaths. Her chest was rising and falling when she tried to reach out to whatever Dahyun was protecting. Dahyun was quicker, though, and pulls the small cooler closer to her. Sana frowns and Dahyun gives her a disapproving look. “What?!”

 

“This is for post game, Captain.” Dahyun made sure to emphasize the last word. “Such a shame that you’re gonna let your teammates see that you’re drinking something different from them. You’re too good for team water now?”

 

“Well, they can get their own girlfriend, then!” Sana protested with her hands insisting on the target.

 

“Nope.” Dahyun pulls the container closer and shakes her head, maintaining her position of justness and fairness.

 

“I have rights!” Sana presses on, then turns to Mina for support. “Mina, tell her I have girlfriend rights!”

 

“Dahyun, she has girlfriend rights.” Mina turns to Dahyun.

 

“So am I.” Dahyun winks and gives Sana a sly smile. Maybe it’d be enough to tell the quarterback that she’s not messing around. Then it was Mina’s turn to glance back at Sana.

 

“Sana,” Mina wiggles her eyebrows. “Dahyun has girlfriend rights.”

 

“Who’s side are you on?” Sana throws her hands up in the air.

 

“Fairness, Sana.” Mina says, unfazed, just like how she has always been. “I am on the side of fairness.”

 

But the truth is, Mina will always side on the person who brings out this part of Sana. But Dahyun doesn’t need to know that.

 

“Mina,” Sana’s voice mellows into a threat. “When we close this chapter of our lives, remember that in the moment when I thought you had my back, you did not, in any way, have my back.”

 

“Are you guys gonna be like this every Saturday?” Mina casually dismisses Sana by turning to Dahyun instead of clapping back at the team captain.

 

“Only if Sana misbehaves.” Dahyun looks up at Sana with narrowed eyes and a quiet warning.

 

“I’ll see you next Saturday, then.” Mina gets off her seat and jogs down the stairs. But before she could get far, she turns at the last minute and calls out to her friend. “Keep her close, Sana. The president might be something!”

 

Dahyun just laughs with Sana as she followed Mina with her eyes. The approval was unlikely and unexpected, which could be a cause for a minor triumph. But what didn’t sit well with Dahyun was the fact that it seemed like she’s making a fool out of Sana’s trusted friends. Afterall, she is not really dating Sana.

 

Mina jumps off from the last step of the stairs and walks up to the girl in a red bandana. Mina isn’t really a fan of whatever is on Momo’s head but it helps her find the girl through the crowd.

 

“Hey!” Momo greets Mina with a giddy grin. “We’re just gonna do cool downs then we can go.”

 

“No rush.” Mina squeezes Momo’s arm then looks back at the couple up in the bleachers. Dahyun was still protecting the cooler, and by the looks of it, Sana will be drinking water when she comes back in the field. It didn’t seem to bother the quarterback, though. Not when she takes off her black baseball cap and puts it on Dahyun and promises her that she’ll be back soon.

 

“Those two are up to something.” Mina points out.

 

“You think?” Momo takes a sip from her paper cup, her eyes locked at whatever Mina was looking at.

 

“To whatever that is, I want in.”

  
  


///

  
  


Sunday.

 

“But, dad.” Tzuyu reasoned to her phone. “I need my car tomorrow. Cheer practices start next week.”

 

“Tzuyu,” her dad says from the other line. “You might get stuck somewhere with that! You don’t even know what’s wrong with your car.”

 

“She’s running fine.” Tzuyu manages to say, glancing down on her dashboard gauges just to make sure. “I’ll call you if I get in trouble.”

 

She tosses her phone on the passenger side seat and drove carefully. There are no weird sounds coming from her engine yet but the longer she drives, the risk of getting stranded increases exponentially. A short cut isn’t a bad idea, but going through Bercow Meadows on the edge of the city meant she’d have to drive into a semi-wilderness road that stretches for about five kilometers.

 

It was five kilometers that will cut her travel time in half. A worthy risk, if she factors in the time. So while she may not get help in the middle of that stretch, her car takes the turn at the last minute and drove into the road less travelled.

 

Just a kilometer in, she could hear a faint tapping sound coming from somewhere she couldn’t place. In the most recent scientific research, that usually means a bad idea.

 

“Baby, let’s just hold it together okay?” Tzuyu’s grip on the steering wheel tightened and her speed decreasing so she wouldn’t blow the engine out. Not that the speed is her problem but for someone who doesn’t know how to fix cars, it seemed like a good idea.

 

In Tzuyu’s defense, anything is a good idea right now. Even pushing the car is a good idea if it came to that. Especially now that she feels her car is dramatically and suspensefully coming to a stop.

 

“Oh, come on!”

 

Then, when the tapping sounds stopped, the birds on the nearby trees flew away from what they thought was an impending calamity.

  
  


///

  
  


Chaeyoung was running errands when she saw the strangest thing in Bercow Meadows. This road isn’t really interesting given that Chaeyoung’s favorite feature of this place is its absence of people, and that the road cuts through the edge of a forest. So when Chaeyoung saw a girl trying (operational word: trying, because it lacks any semblance of progress) to push her car off the side of the road, she just had to see who this unlucky girl is.

 

The sputtering engine of the Vespa was more than enough to get Tzuyu’s attention. And when she thought that her luck officially ran out, she could see that the driver on the vintage scooter is a girl. Maybe roughly her age if she’s to piece together whatever parts are not covered by the helmet visor.

 

Guys are weirdos, Tzuyu thinks, and she’s just thankful that a girl is approaching.

 

She turns to the scooter and waves her hands to get the driver’s attention.

 

If she could work her charm out, then maybe the scooter would — okay, it just passed by her like she’s not there. Which Tzuyu thinks is a very deliberate response. She’s a girl, trying to push her car off the road. Scratch that. She’s the only person with a car in this side of town.

 

“What?” Tzuyu mumbles to herself when she could only follow the scooter with her gaze.

 

It’s not that Chaeyoung didn’t see Tzuyu. But it’s more of, it’s Tzuyu so why the hell would she stop? There are a hundred other reasons that’s telling her she’s the enemy and that she doesn’t deserve the kindness, but a bigger part of her was making her loosen her grip on the scooter handles.

 

For one, Tzuyu was pushing her car off the road like she was pushing a wall. And with the environmental documentaries she watched, Tzuyu is about to become bear fodder.

 

Two, if Tzuyu ends up absent on Monday for whatever reason (maybe bear attack?), Chaeyoung thinks that her conscience wouldn’t be able to handle it.

 

Three, if she has learned anything from Dahyun and her public service, it’s that there’s a thin line between being selfish and protecting yourself. And that thin line is saving Tzuyu this afternoon.

 

“Fuck you and your morals, Son Chaeyoung. Don’t come crying when this blows in your face.” she squeezes on the breaks and the Vespa comes to a stop. She kicks off the side stand and leans the scooter on rest as her engine continued to sputter.

 

Tzuyu could feel her heart unclench in relief, but it quickly tenses up again when the girl takes off her helmet and places it on the scooter seat. Suddenly, Tzuyu doesn’t feel so lucky anymore.

 

“Hi, Chae.” she winces, not sure if words came out of her mouth. Her lab partner just bobs her eyebrow in acknowledgement before she marched to the front of Tzuyu’s car.

 

“I hope you didn’t spill our chemistry experiment in this.” Chae said in a joking way, which surprised both of them. The only excuse she could think of is that Tzuyu is in a lot of trouble to be dealing with her hostility right now.

 

By the looks of it, she deserves a break.

 

“Well,” Tzuyu laughed at her own decisions. Chaeyoung smiles a bit in Tzuyu’s relief. “It seems that chemistry isn’t the only thing that I can mess up.”

 

They both share a quiet laughter before Chaeyoung opened the hood of her car and looked into her engine. To whatever Chaeyoung was searching for, Tzuyu doesn’t know. But by the looks of the frown on her lab partner’s face, she tried to brace for the bad news.

 

“Bad news is,” Chaeyoung sighs, and Tzuyu’s brain goes Of course!

 

“Bad news is, my basic troubleshoot list checks out.” Chaeyoung winces, feeling a bit sorry that she can’t help much. “Sorry, Tzuyu. This is beyond me.” Chaeyoung shuts the car’s hood and jams her hands inside her butt pockets. Tzuyu could only force out a sad smile as she tried to assess her options.

 

She could try calling her dad again, or she could try walking to the nearest repair station. But one thing’s for sure. She can’t trouble Chaeyoung any longer.

 

“She did her best.” Tzuyu sighs and taps the roof of her car, before looking down on the road. “If I walk, how long will it take to get to the nearest repair station?”

 

“Half an hour if you walk fast? I’m not sure.” Chaeyoung shrugs. “But tell you what, I know a place. That’s where my friends go for car trouble. We know the guy.”

 

“Thanks, but —.”

 

“I’ll drive you there, then let’s see what your options are.”

 

“Drive me there?” Tzuyu tried her best to hide her grin.

 

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung nods, as if there’s no animosity between the two of them. “I mean, unless you want to stay here.”

 

Tzuyu beams and nods enthusiastically.

  
  


///

  
  


Tzuyu could feel the wind softly brushing on her cheeks as they zipped down the forested road. From her seat, she watched in awe as the sunlight is filtered through the gaps between leaves and branches. Soft god rays that spill out from behind the forest.

 

It wasn’t her first time seeing the afternoon sun, but it was definitely her first time seeing it while on a Vespa. It made her think why she never tried this before, because being behind Chaeyoung felt like she was flying.

 

“Hold tight!” Chaeyoung screamed over the sound of the sputtering engine. Tzuyu looked down and to her horror, there are no handles. Only Chaeyoung’s slender waist and her tight shirt that was hiking dangerously revealing the skin underneath. Her panic only worsened when she felt the scooter speeding up when they were going downhill.

 

At this point, she can’t really tell if she’s luck or not, but holy hell, it’s difficult to think when she’s practically hugging Chaeyoung from behind.

 

“You never bring this to school!” Tzuyu screams, hoping that her voice goes through the helmet. Chaeyoung just glances over her shoulder a bit, much to Tzuyu’s relief, then it was her turn to scream.

 

“This is the only scooter I have.” Chaeyoung said. “I can’t afford to replace it if the jocks suddenly have the urge to mess it up for some reason. Haseul’s scooter, remember?”

 

Of course Tzuyu remembers. She was watching when JB and Jackson crashed it into a tree. She was there when Haseul was crying and Dahyun was comforting her.

 

It was only then that Tzuyu realized that she never figured out why Haseul got it bad that day. She was quiet, mostly hanging out with the girls who played Magic: The Gathering or Dungeons and Dragons. There was even a rumor that she was writing an online high fantasy novel that she stopped writing. Haseul is awkward, but she never caused trouble.

 

“I use this scooter for my side jobs so I can’t lose it.” Chaeyoung exits Bercrow Meadows and they both found themselves back into ‘civilization’. But Tzuyu didn’t notice it. She’s still stuck in what Chaeyoung just shared. She thought that if that random hate was hurled towards Chaeyoung’s direction, she would have a hard time getting to her side jobs, and maybe, Chaeyoung would never have found her. “We’re here.”

 

Tzuyu felt the scooter slow down as they entered a fairly big garage. There were cars being repaired and a tow truck, which gave Tzuyu every reason to be hopeful. They parked beside another Vespa (a mustard one with saddlebags) then walked up into what appeared to be the office.

 

“Harvard Jo!” Chaeyoung greeted, and to Tzuyu’s surprise, a person jumped out from the door. It turns out, that the ‘guy’ Chaeyoung knew is actually a girl.

 

“Tigercub!” the other girl takes her in a short hug. “I see Billie is still running! You got her new rails, too. Nice!”

 

Something told Tzuyu that they talk about their scooters much more than she could imagine.

 

“I got them last week! Also got a glove box.” Chaeyoung boasted. “New York Special looks nice! Leather saddlebags!”

 

“Yeah! I needed the storage.” Haseul wiggled her eyebrows, quite proud of her build. “She has been resurrected from that incident and here she is. All safe and dolled up. She also got a new horn.”

 

They all stared at the seemingly mundane scooter, but the sheer attention that they gave their vehicles is enough to bother Tzuyu. Not because she thinks it’s weird, but because she could only imagine how painful it was to see it all ruined. Especially with the care that Haseul gave it through the years.

 

“So,” Haseul puts her arms akimbo and turns to Chaeyoung. “What do you got for me?”

 

“Ah, yeah.” Chaeyoung rubbed the back of her neck as she cleared her throat. “You know Tzuyu from school?”

 

Haseul quickly tensed up and Tzuyu wished she hadn’t noticed it too easily. Haseul (or Harvard Jo according to Chaeyoung) turned to her, giving her the kind of stare that made her feel like an intruder. “What’s her problem?”

 

“Her car stalled in Bercrow Meadows.” Chaeyoung explained, as she watched how Tzuyu tried her best to cower from the way Haseul looked at her. While Haseul had every reason to be wary of Tzuyu, Chaeyoung believed that if this was Dahyun, she’d try her best to pull out Tzuyu from trouble.

 

Hell, the girl was pushing her car off the road.

 

“Harvard.” Chaeyoung insisted. “She’s good.”

 

Haseul just stared at Chaeyoung in silence but Tzuyu knew that Haseul is wrestling with the thought of trusting her. And why would she? Tzuyu practically watched when they crashed the New York Special into a tree.

 

“You’re lucky.” Haseul said, breaking the silence. It’s the fifth time today where Tzuyu argued with herself whether she is actually lucky or not. “Your lucky that Chaeyoung found you, because if a friend of Dahyun wants to help you then I’ll help.”

 

Tzuyu shakily breathes out in relief. Her shoulders finally relaxing when she watched Haseul wink at Chaeyoung. She then called out to her dad who’s probably the grease stained guy fixing an engine.

 

“Dad! Can you tow me up to Bercrow! Client’s car got stuck there!”

 

Her dad only gave her a thumbs up in reply but it was enough to satisfy the three of them. As her dad began to wipe off the grease from his hands, Haseul ran back inside the office to get the keys to the truck.

 

“This might take a while so I hope you have plans to kill time.” Haseul says when she passes by the two of them.

 

“Chae, it’s fine.” Tzuyu quickly insisted. “I can wait. If you need to be elsewhere, you should get going. I’ve bothered you enough.”

 

“Yeah, you did bother me enough.” Chaeyoung agrees, making Tzuyu feel a bit guilty. But Chaeyoung looks up at her and smiles. “That’s why you’re coming with me.”

  
  


///

  
  


Tzuyu hadn’t noticed how much she has become comfortable in hugging Chaeyoung until they reached a small market street about fifteen minutes away from the garage. It didn’t bother Chaeyoung as much, and even if it’s just for the sake of safety, Tzuyu is glad that her lab partner was okay with it.

 

But what Tzuyu is not okay with is when her helmet buckle got stuck and Chaeyoung had to help her get if off. She could feel the knuckles of Chaeyoung’s fingers press against her chin in a ticklish way and Tzuyu wished that she’s smarter in figuring out a goddamn helmet buckle.

 

Chaeyoung has buttons for eyes. Little cute ones, Tzuyu noted. And a mole under her lip. Her hair is dark brown. Short. Just ending right above her shoulders. She smells good too, like watermelons. Then, when she finally felt the wind grazing her ears, it was only then that she realized she’s staring longer than she should.

 

“Come on. Let’s get you something to eat.” Chaeyoung locks the helmets onto the scooter rails then walked ahead into the street. Tzuyu is not really familiar in this side of town so she could only follow the other girl while her eyes wandered around this quaint neighborhood. Coffee shops, an artisan bakery, vintage music stores selling vinyl, and some art hobby stores with architecture students as patrons.

 

They all line a cul de sac with a large installment art in the middle. The buildings were pretty old and for an ‘artsy’ side of town, the brick walls were bare. The place smells good, though, with the scent of brewed coffee and french fries.

 

The collection of establishments are enough reason on why Tzuyu never knew a place like this existed. One, she doesn’t do art. Two, only Nayeon has an obscure music taste. Three, all of her friends hang out uptown. Yet, here she is, entering what appears to be a snack shop that sells dollar pizzas, burgers, shakes, and art supplies. Yes, art supplies.

 

“I’ll pay for whatever she’s having.” Chaeyoung says as she approached the counter. Tzuyu thought it was a weird way to say hello. “It’s her first time on this side of town.”

 

A woman in her mid thirties had a big smile on her face when she heard Chaeyoung’s voice. Maybe they knew each other, Tzuyu thought, so she keeps the information in the back of her head.

 

“Ah, an uptowner? I figured.” the woman laughed. “What brings her here?”

 

“Her car stalled up in Bercrow Meadows.” Chaeyoung drummed her hands on the counter. “If I hadn’t found her, she would’ve been dinner for bears.”

 

“Do you really have to go and tell everyone about my bad life decisions?” Tzuyu whines.

 

“I don’t know. Do you always have to look perfect all the time?” Chaeyoung spits back.

 

“Look at you being nice!” The lady comments on Chaeyoung’s choice of words.

 

“I’m always nice, Maddie.” Chaeyoung reasons. Tzuyu just gives Chaeyoung a disapproving look which made Maddie laugh. “She’s making faces, isn’t she.”

 

Tzuyu quickly shakes her head but Maddie gives her up anyways.

 

“Yeap. I understand her, though.” she said then she winks back at Tzuyu. “What do you need?”

 

“RV07 and 06. And BG05.” Chaeyoung said, her eyes still locked down

 

“Colored pens?” Tzuyu asked as she peered over Chaeyoung’s shoulder.

 

“Copic markers. And no, Tzuyu. These are not just colored pens. Faber-Castell are colored pens.” Chaeyoung skillfully flipped through the collection of pens like has been doing this for a long time. “Pentel are colored pens. These are ten dollars a piece with a bottle of refill included. Saw any colored pens that expensive?”

 

“Yeah.” Tzuyu nods, and when Chaeyoung glanced at her with a skeptic look, Tzuyu just pointed at the Copic markers with her lips. “Right there in front of you.”

 

“Act cute like that again and I’ll never buy you the best slice of dollar pizza that you’ll ever taste in your glamorous life.”

 

Tzuyu wanted to chase after the ‘cute’ part but she somehow ended up with the ‘glamorous’ part instead.

 

“What made you think I’m living a glamorous life?” she asks with a smirk and her brow engaged.

 

“Have you ever tried a dollar pizza before?”

 

“No.” Tzuyu rolled her eyes playfully, pinching her lips when she realized she just walked into the trap.

 

“Glamorous life.” Chaeyoung comments smugly, turning to the woman behind the counter. “Maddie, two slices of ‘No.5 Juventus’ and,” then she turns to Tzuyu who was staring at the wall of markers. When she realized that Chaeyoung probably said something she missed, Tzuyu raised her brows to say, You said something?

 

“What are you drinking, Chewy?” Chaeyoung asked casually. Chewy. That’s new. Chaeyoung never called her that before until now. Are they friends now? Tzuyu doesn’t want to assume just yet.

 

“Sprite.” she quickly responds. “And a bottle of water.”

 

Tzuyu pulled her wallet out, thinking that this is the least she could do for everything that Chaeyoung did for her today. But before she could even pay, Chaeyoung pushes her hands down firmly and insisted on paying. Maddie takes Chaeyoung’s cash and punched their orders in together with the markers that Chaeyoung bought.

 

“That’s three markers and your food.” Maddie calculates. “Not taking RV09? Thought you needed that.”

 

“Thirty dollars is already pretty painful. I’ll come back for it maybe in two weeks?” Chaeyoung winces.

 

“Okay. Then if money is an issue.” the woman’s voice trailed, and in Chaeyoung’s experience, this is often followed by an offer. “I have a proposition for you.” Then there it goes. “See the bare wall on the south wall? I was thinking, if you —.”

 

“You want me to paint on it.” Chaeyoung folds her arms loosely under her chest while Tzuyu tried not to be too impressed by Chaeyoung’s artistic nature.

 

“Come on, Chae! Just a full mural at the back.” Maddie practically begged. “I’ll make it worth your time!”

 

“Mads! I have school!” Chaeyoung reasoned.

 

“Market price! All materials loaned from me, and you get to put that in your portfolio! Come on!”

 

“Fuck.” Chaeyoung could only manage to say until she could only stare back at the store owner.

 

“Come on!”

 

“Fine!” She surrenders, and Tzuyu doesn’t know why she’s so happy about this. “We’ll talk about the price but it’s your materials.”

 

“Deal!” Maddie slams her hand on the table, quite happy about the bargain. “Soon enough, the high school kids will want that wall on their instagram pages.”

 

“You put too much faith in me, Mads.” Chaeyoung sighed as she took her Copic markers and the receipt.

 

“That’s because you don’t put enough on yourself.” Maddie leans over the counter, knowing very well her words will hit where it should. For a reply, Chaeyoung just gave out a shaky laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck.

 

Tzuyu watched as this snarky Chaeyoung was reduced into uncertainty and insecurity. And if this store owner is willing to pay some mad cash just for her to paint, then Tzuyu’s pretty sure that Chaeyoung isn’t drawing stick figures like her.

 

“How’s the portfolio for college anyway?” Maddie asked as she brought out two good looking slices of pizza, a bottled water, and two cans of soda.

 

“It’s getting there.” Chaeyoung nodded. “That’s why I’m buying stuff.”

 

“Good. That’s good.” Maddie smiled, quite happy that Chaeyoung was back at her usual mood. “Hit me up once you finish it. I can help out.”

 

She hands their orders over to the smaller girl and wraps up the entire purchase. Tzuyu takes the markers so she could feel helpful, especially when it’s Chaeyoung holding their food in paper bags. But before they could go out the store, the smaller girl turns to the store owner and asks.

 

“Give me one thing that you want to see in the mural.”

 

“A portrait of sorts.” Maddie answered quickly, as if she had this image in mind. Then Chaeyoung turned to her lab partner.

 

“Chewy?”

 

“Me? I.. I..” Tzuyu wasn’t prepared for an answer because her relationship with Chaeyoung isn’t on a level that she could share her opinions. So when the moment actually came, she blurted out a word in sheer panic. Something that interested her. “Aliens.”

 

“A what?” Maddie laughed.

 

“Aliens it is.” Chaeyoung sighed, making Tzuyu doubt her suggestions. “No take-backsies. If it’s awful, Tzuyu will give you a refund.”

 

“I’ll count on it!” the store owner winked.

 

They walk out of the store with food in tow, marching down the street to look for whatever Chaeyoung needed to get. There was just a bit of struggling, with some paper bags being held using armpits, then Chaeyoung pulled out two slices of dollar pizza. It was different. It wasn’t the usual sauce and cheese. It had a bit of fresh basil on it and some crushed anchovies, if Tzuyu could still trust her 20/20 vision.

 

“This is a dollar pizza?” she asked.

 

“Not impressed?” Chaeyoung marched on, folding her slice in half just by the crust.

 

“No. But I could bet your ass that this isn’t a dollar.” Tzuyu raises the slice to her eyes. The crust is still warm and the cheese is practically drooling over the edge. The basil fragrance mixes well with the toasty aroma, and Tzuyu thought that she has never seen a dollar slice as sexy as this one.

 

“It isn’t.” Chaeyoung smirks with a mouth full of pizza. She tilts her head up and juggles the bite inside her mouth because damn, it was piping hot. “It’s actually S1.95.”

 

At this moment, Tzuyu paces up so she could nudge Chaeyoung’s shoulder playfully. She had this sly look and a bit of confidence to banter with.

 

“And I’m the one living a glamorous life? You just paid two dollars for a slice.” Tzuyu bites back, making Chaeyoung cover her full mouth with the back of her hand. She has a point, and Chaeyoung doesn’t have a choice but to laugh in agreement. In return, Chaeyoung just taught Tzuyu how to eat large pizza slices like normal people do (because Tzuyu, apparently and glamorously, eats it with a fork and a knife) by folding it so all the crust is outside and pressing it together like some taco.

 

After the quick laughter subsided, Tzuyu took the chance to clarify one thing. “You’re not serious about the aliens, right?”

 

“What? Of course not.” Chaeyoung denied, her deep frown seemed to be questioning Tzuyu’s life choices.

 

“Whew!”

 

“Say,” Chaeyoung said as she finished another bite. “Where’s a good place to look for alien inspiration?”

 

“Chae!”

 

“Oh, nice!” Chaeyoung suddenly exclaimed, intentionally ignoring the other girl’s protest. Tzuyu turned her attention to whatever Chaeyoung was looking at and saw three people up in a small make up stage tuning their instruments. “Afternoon band! Come on!”

 

And just like that, Tzuyu thinks that an alien will actually be included in the mural. But at least there’s afternoon entertainment.

  
  


///

  
  


Jeongyeon marches into Jieun’s garage, with her guitar on her shoulder. She was expecting that they started practicing but instead, she saw Yuna on Ryujin’s lap as the drummer teaches the bassist some easy drills.

 

“No!” Yuna giggles, snatching the sticks from Ryujin’s hands. “Like this.” she did exactly what Ryujin did, but in better sequence, and a clearer sound. Which means, she didn’t do it exactly as Ryujin did.

 

Ryujin just perched her chin on Yuna’s shoulder and watched her do the exercise properly. At this point, Jeongyeon knew that Ryujin wasn’t paying attention anymore.

 

“This is allowed?” Jeongyeon said to Jieun, gesturing to the entirety of Yuna and Ryujin.

 

“You’re not the only person here who’s allowed to get a girlfriend.” Jieun dismisses her and takes a swig from her Diet Coke.

 

“So they’re a thing now?” Jeongyeon asks with a frown and a raised brow. “That’s a thing now?” without looking, she gestured over the juniors and reiterated her question.

 

But Jieun isn’t a fan of too much talking. It’s wasteful energy. So if she gives Jeongyeon a shrug, she should be contented with it.

 

“Christsakes.” Jeongyeon shakes her head and pulls her phone out when she felt it vibrate. As Jieun prepared her pedals, Jeongyeon texted Dahyun back.

 

**[Jeonggay]:**

No Dahyun. Chae and I didn’t play today.

Chae, your mom is looking for you.

The mom’s Dahyun by the way.

 

**[Dubudahyun]:**

That’s weird.

Anyways, where are you Chae?

I need to talk to you!

I’m not mad! Just disappointed!

Jk

 

“So,” Ryujin whispered to Jieun as she tuned her bass. Jieun just glanced up to her, and shook her head. She never subscribed to Ryujin’s question but she had to admit that she’s kind of right.

 

“She didn’t deny it.” Jieun pinched her lips together and bobbed her eyebrows.

  
  


///

 

**_[(song cue)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjw5wcdxnn8) _ **

****

Haseul said it’s something about the compressor and the plug. Tzuyu can’t tell if that’s complicated (or if those are real car parts) but Haseul said the car will be available tomorrow after school as some spare parts will have to be delivered. Mr. Chou is okay with this, but he’s mostly grateful that Tzuyu has friends to take care of her, even if she’s not actually affiliated with Haseul and Chaeyoung.

 

So, with a guarantee that she’ll get her car back tomorrow, and a personal warranty (care of Chaeyoung), Tzuyu found herself hugging her lab partner from behind. Again. Just by the waist. A feeling that became all too familiar to her at this point.

 

They zipped through streetlights and neon signs. Past cars and pedestrians on a late Sunday afternoon. The skies are splashed with amazing shades of purples and oranges, fading into a deeper shade of blue. It wasn’t a special sunset. It has always been like this in the State of Acadia.

 

But it wasn’t much because of a scene. Rather, it’s more of a feeling. The feeling of flying and the hope that somehow, even in its littlest ways, she and Chaeyoung grew a bit closer, with the shades of purple and orange as witness.

 

“Chae.” she spoke as soft as she could over the sputtering of the engine.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You never did art back in our school?” Tzuyu asked, a bit sure of what kind of answer she’d get.

 

“Jocks are vandals. I’m not in for that kind of embarrassment.” Chaeyoung answered without sugar coating or hesitating. In this same moment, she could feel Tzuyu’s hold tighten around her waist for a bit. Which is strange because they aren’t speeding up.

 

“Chae?” Tzuyu almost mumbles.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I know it’s too much for me to ask but..” there was a short pause as Tzuyu convinced herself to risk her insistence. It’s unwise but the quiet drive, the sunset over them, and her chest pressing against Chaeyoung back all told her that if she doesn’t ask now, maybe she’ll never will. “Will you take me back there once you finish the mural? I wanna see it.”

 

Chaeyoung had rejected her for a number of times, but Tzuyu thought that this would be the one that would be hardest to take. So when Chaeyoung only responded in silence, Tzuyu was poised to take it back. That is, until Chaeyoung spoke up.

 

“Sure.” she said, much to Tzuyu’s relief. “If you’re worried about the aliens that much.” then they shared quiet laughter.

 

They stopped just right in front of Tzuyu’s house just as the sun’s crown was fading behind the horizon. The house is pretty big just as Chaeyoung pictured in her head. A huge reminder on how they’re both living different lives.

 

Tzuyu got off and took off her helmet, quite disappointed that she got the buckles right the first time this time.

 

“Thanks for today, Chae. I’ll make it up to you.” Tzuyu said as she returned the spare helmet.

 

“No need.” Chaeyoung locks it around the handle and looked up to the cheerleader. “You needed help. I was there. That’s all there is to it.’

 

She sounded like Lab Partner Chae that moment, but somehow, this made Tzuyu feel warm inside. She’s generous, she thought, even for people who don’t deserve it.

 

“Still. Thanks for the help. And the dollar pizza. And the songs from Fazer Lazer (the band they saw earlier), and for the ride home.” Tzuyu listed. “I really want to make it up to you.”

 

Chaeyoung once denied that Tzuyu has a pretty smile, but with the soft shine of the fading sun, she could see that Tzuyu was genuinely happy on how her day turned out. More so, when they both knew that Chaeyoung played a big part in turning this day around.

 

But this is fleeting. A deviance from the dictated laws of who gets to hang out with who. Tomorrow, when they’re in school, they'll be back to normal. And when that happens, Chaeyoung cannot let herself hope for anything.

 

“I —.”

 

“Honey!” Mrs. Chou called out before Chaeyoung could even speak up. “Is that your friend? Come on up!”

 

“Chewy, I really shouldn’t” Chaeyoung shrunk with a frown.

 

“Come on, Chae.” Tzuyu grins shyly. “You don’t have a choice. You can just say hi if you really need to go.” And Tzuyu realized how ironic it is in wanting for Chaeyoung to stay when earlier in the garage she was okay with Chaeyoung leaving her alone.

 

“How was it?” Mrs. Chou asks as they come up to the front door.

 

“I’ll pick up the car tomorrow after practice.” Tzuyu said, glancing at Chaeyoung who gave her an assuring nod. “But it’s all good. Dad talked to the mechanic over the phone.”

 

“That’s good. I was worried!” Mrs. Chou placed a hand over her chest. Dramatic effect. Asian moms. No one can blame her. “Thank you so much. I’m glad that my daughter has really good friends.”

 

“Just glad I could help.” Chaeyoung forces out a shy laughter.

 

“Want to come inside? You should come inside!” Mrs. Chou invited, which made Tzuyu a bit panicky for putting Chaeyoung in this situation. She glanced back and forth between Chaeyoung and her mom, thinking of an excuse to let Chaeyoung off the hook.

 

“I wouldn’t want to impose on you hospitality, Mrs. Chou.” Chaeyoung smiles politely. And Tzuyu felt that she only caused Chaeyoung nothing but trouble today. “Besides, it's a school night and my parents are already looking for me. Maybe next time, though. I’ll make sure to swing by.”

 

“Make sure that you do, sweetie.” Mrs.Chou finally surrenders, squeezing Chaeyoung’s shoulder. “In the meantime, I’ll make sure that my daughter makes it up to you.

 

“Mom.” Tzuyu whines, equally embarrassed, much to Chaeyoung’s amusement.

 

“It’s really no trouble, Mrs. Chou. At least Tzuyu got here in one piece, right?” They laughed. “Good night, Mrs. Chou.”

 

“You too. Take care, sweetie!” the older lady twiddled her fingers to say goodbye then Tzuyu walked Chaeyoung back to her scooter.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tzuyu smiled, her eyes turning into happy arched slits, and Chaeyoung wished that she doesn’t do that too often.

 

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung smiled, too. Not out of politeness, but an actual smile that made her dimples show. “See you tomorrow.”

 

And with that, and the slowly fading sound of the sputtering engine, Tzuyu watched as Chaeyoung disappeared at the end of the road.

  
  


///

  
  


**[Dubudahyun]:**

That’s weird.

Anyways, where are you Chae?

I need to talk to you!

I’m not mad! Just disappointed!

Jk

 

**[Chaechae]:**

What do you want mom?

 

**[Dubudahyun]:**

Harvard Jo messaged me.

 

**[Chaechae]:**

I CAN EXPLAIN!

 

**[Jeonggay]:**

Explain what?

 

**[Dubudahyun]:**

Tell her who you’re with Chae.

 

**[Chaechae]:**

I will kill Harvard Jo!

 

**[Dubudahyun]:**

She has immunity. Car Repairs Immunity.

Tell Jeongyeon.

 

**[Jeonggay]:**

SPIT IT OUT!

 

**[Chaechae]:**

I was with Tzuyu but that’s nothing.

  
  


~

 

“Jeongyeon!” her older sister called rom downstairs, obviously annoyed. “Can you fucking stop screaming!”

 

“Seungyeon! Language!” another voice thundered.

 

“But mom! Damn it!”

 

///

  
  


**@ChewyChou** 13m

A day of undeserved and unexpected kindness. Thank you! My heart is full. (heart)

 

 **@ChewyChou** 9m

AAAAAAAH!! I don’t even have her number! I am a worthless gay? (sad)

 

> **@PenguinMyoui** 7m
> 
> This really isn’t something you’d want to share here.
> 
>  
> 
> **@ImImNayeon** 6m
> 
> EXPLAIN YOURSELF!
> 
>  
> 
> **@PenguinMyoui** 5m
> 
> And I’m too late.

 

 **@NoJamJeong** 11m

Hmmm.. This is why I hate the fact that Chaeyoung doesn’t have any sns accounts.

 

 **@NancyMac** 11m

I spy with my little eye..

  
  


*********

 

 

**A/N:**

For those of you who have been listening to the songs, thank you so so much! It means a lot to me when people listen to the songs I share. I hope it also captures the mood of the story. 

We've been noting a lot of your suspicions for the story but we're not giving out any clues as to whatever will happen! Come on, you all know where this leads! Just sit back and enjoy the ride! Hahaha! The chapters will be pretty hefty from here on since I don't reguarly update and as much I wanted to finish the entire thing and publish it after, I really do badly with self imposed deadlines. So here we are. 

I'll try to respond to your comments as soon as I can but please do know that your words continue to inspire us to keep doing what we do.. Thank you so much!

We luf all of you so so much! See you next chapter! 


	6. We Are Not Friends (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dahyun and Sana were slowly becoming absorbed in their own charades. But things get a little bit too fishy to handle.

**We Are Not Friends (Part 2)**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

 

_ "But everyone I know is either shouting or dancing around like wild or beating up one another. Do you notice how people hurt each other nowadays?" - Fahrenheit 451  _ (Ray Bradbury)

 

 

///

  
  


It was a Sunday. A little bit under an hour when Chaeyoung and Tzuyu left Haseul’s garage.

 

Sana was just planning to swing by Dahyun’s place to get some Chemistry notes when Dahyun offered her a drink while waiting. So, when she found herself comfortably lying down on Dahyun’s couch (A big “L” shaped one, so Sana fits), she could only wish to blame whatever’s on HBO (yes, HBO is still a thing) at that time for making her stay.

 

But it wasn’t the TV’s fault. Because if it was, then she would’ve remembered what they were watching. Or that they already started on an entirely new movie 30 minutes ago.

 

It was mainly Dahyun’s fault, at least in Sana’s perspective. Afterall, it was the president who brought up on what Sana wanted for post-practice snacks starting next Saturday.

 

Sana was lying down with her back resting snuggly against the couch backrest and some pillows while Dahyun settled on the side of her hips. She was leaning towards Sana, with her elbows resting on one of the upright pillows, and the side of her head resting on her knuckles.

 

“Anything you’re allergic to?” Dahyun took a sip of the freshly blended watermelon juice (Sana had three already), and glanced a bit at Sana’s direction. She watched as the quarterback just turned towards her, a small frown forming in thought.

 

“Walnuts.” Sana answered, much to Dahyun curious amusement.

 

“Good.”

 

“It’s good to have allergies? The hell’s wrong with you?” Sana mocked and laughed. “Ow!” And she quickly learns that Dahyun literally packs a punch.

 

“Are you gonna poison me?” Sana laughed but she gently catches Dahyun’s punch by the wrist and holds the president’s hand down.

 

“Annoying.” Dahyun rolled her eyes and laughed. She gently yanks her hand off, then puts it over Sana’s hand, just in case she needs to punch the quarterback. “I’m allergic to walnuts too so there’s no chance it would end up in your food. But thanks for giving me an idea of how to get rid of you.”

 

Sana lifts her head up and leans closer to the president. Dahyun, with the side of her head still resting on her knuckles, didn’t even flinch. But inside, she’s finding it hard to not get distracted when Sana comes this close. Especially when Sana looks at her like she’s about to do something that Dahyun wouldn’t say no to.

 

“As if. Not when you still have the Guide to finish.” Sana whispered through her smirk and Dahyun wished she’d stop doing that.

 

There was a mere inch between their noses, and Dahyun could feel Sana’s breath graze lightly against her lips. She tasted the watermelons in it, too. But she sat there unflinching still, and with a glance down at Sana’s lips, Dahyun stares right into Sana’s eyes.

 

“You have no idea how much I wanted to wipe that smug look off your face, Sana.” Dahyun said in hushed tones but Sana cannot mistake the conviction.

 

“Wipe it off how?” Sana’s brow perked, her voice mellowing down into sultry hush to challenge Dahyun’s resolve.

 

“With my lips.” Dahyun said without even passing a beat, and it was Sana’s turn to choke on the lump in her throat.

 

“Really now?” Sana, her brow still cocked, watched as Dahyun looked down on her lips once more. Gauging if the president was tempted. She could literally feel the warmth in Dahyun’s breath but somehow succeeding in holding herself back.

 

“You would want that now, wouldn’t you?” Dahyun shook her head. “You have to do better than that, Sana. You know very well that not giving what you want is my favorite thing.”

 

“Oh, it’s on, baby girl.” Sana licked her lips, and it would take more from Dahyun to hold herself together. Unfortunately for her, confidence can be betrayed by red glow of her pale cheeks. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

 

Dahyun cups Sana’s cheek then turns it away from her, making Sana laugh. That’s a win, alright. And Sana will take it. “Anyway, where’s the Guide?”

 

“Here.” the weight on the couch shifted as she reached for the leather bound notebook on the side table. She tosses it on Sana’s lap and the quarterback was quick to turn to the specific page.

 

“Okay.” Sana’s eyes began to move through the checklist using whatever’s on TV for light. “Go to a high school party. Check! Get drunk. Big check!” They both laughed.

 

“Go on a date. Get high. Play a prank. Skip class. Sleepover.” Sana stopped and looked up to Dahyun. “Sleepover?”

 

“Yeah.” the president just nodded.

 

“You never had a sleepover before? Not even with Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon?”

 

“We tried but things happened then we never got around into planning one again.” Dahyun reasons. Sana just shrugs but she takes a small mental note of it as well. Maybe this is something they could do with her friends.

 

“Serenade someone? Now that’s different.” Sana pauses a while with a tone of curiosity that didn’t sit well with her pretend-girlfriend. Dahyun clicks her tongue and reaches for the Guide, slightly embarrassed when it seems like Sana found it cheezy.

 

Sana pulls the Guide away from Dahyun’s reach and frowned.

 

“What? It’s cute!” Then Sana dug her hand into the bag of dark chocolate glazed potato chips. Dahyun’s favorite.

 

Dahyun just rolled her eyes playfully, taking Sana’s words with a grain of salt. If Sana’s words have an effect on her, Dahyun should make sure that it doesn’t show. You know, just in case Sana is just making her feel better or whatever.

 

“Go to a prom with a date.” Sana made sure to take note and continued, “Do something illegal. Oh, wow. Damn, babe!”

 

“Something that wouldn’t leave a lasting dent on my future plans, though.” Dahyun quickly defends.

 

“Okay, let’s do jaywalking then.” Sana suggests mockingly. “Or overspeeding since you seem like the dangerous type.”

 

“Ha ha.” Dahyun laughed dryly. Sana isn’t wrong though. Being a president doesn’t really open up a lot of opportunities on being a criminal. But Dahyun also hoped that maybe there are activities out there that are considered to be level one illegal activities. Or maybe lower than that? Level zero point five?

 

“Don’t make me regret saving your social life, Miss President.” Sana said, chips crunching in her mouth “I’m not gonna go to jail for this.”

 

“My social life is fine as it is before you came in.” Dahyun snatches the pack of her dark chocolate glazed potato chips because hell, Sana doesn’t deserve this treat.

 

“I signed up to be your girlfriend, not an accomplice to a crime!” Sana protested as she reached for the bag of chips. Dahyun tosses it onto the coffee table, far from Sana’s unworthiness.

 

“What? Announcing that we’re dating in front of the whole school suddenly isn’t the best of ideas now? This is your fault, you know?” Dahyun bites back, and Sana felt that sting. All things considered, she kind of dug her own grave here. Pretty deep too.

 

Sana laughs at this. Laughs at the truth in it, but Sana’s not complaining. She is, after all, lying down on a couch for god knows how long. Having random conversations with the person that she’s least likely to spend her Sunday with.

 

Conversations ranging from school work, their friends, shows they watch (apparently, Sana and Dahyun love watching Brooklyn 99, and Lucifer), and pretty much anything that catches Sana’s attention. Conversations that make her think on why she never talked to Dahyun before. Mundane conversations that she never had with Nancy.

 

Speaking of unlikely people spending time together, Sana noticed how Dahyun fell silent all of a sudden. Even more so when the faint light from Dahyun’s phone showed the creased skin between her brows. Sana reached out and squeezed Dahyun’s shoulder, pulling Dahyun out from whatever distracted her.

 

“What’s up?” Sana asks softly.

 

“Are you close with Chewy?” Dahyun glanced at Sana’s direction, with her frown still there.

 

“Yeah. Pretty much so.”

 

“So you know who she’s with tonight?” Dahyun’s eyes narrowed, gauging if Sana knew anything yet. Which is unlikely since they both haven’t checked their phone in a while.

 

“No. I mean, our group chat hasn’t blown up yet.” Sana shrugged.

 

“Hmm.. it means they’re not telling.” Dahyun paused and waited a beat. “Yet.”

 

“They? So you know who she’s with?” Now it was Sana’s turn to ask, turning on her side. The weight on the couch shifts, and Dahyun sits up with crossed-legs.

 

“Yeah.” Dahyun nods.

 

“Who?”

 

“Your Chewy..” still clutching her phone. Dahyun drops her hands down on her ankles. “.. is out with our Chaeyoung.”

 

“Huh.” Sana’s shoulder jerks up a bit. They both descended into silence, with the dialogue from the TV filling in the space between them. It would’ve been a perfect time to finally figure out what they’re watching but when they’re thinking about how these two seemingly unfriendly lab partners are somehow spending the afternoon together, other thoughts are difficult to accommodate.

 

“Oh, damn.” Sana mumbles.

 

“Oh, damn.” Dahyun follows up, with Sana smiling on how she got the reference. “Oh, damn! Oh! Damn!”

  
  


///

  
  


**[Dubudahyun]:**

Harvard Jo messaged me.

 

**[Chaechae]:**

I CAN EXPLAIN!

 

**[Jeonggay]:**

Explain what?

 

**[Dubudahyun]:**

Tell her who you’re with Chae.

 

**[Chaechae]:**

I will kill Harvard Jo!

 

**[Dubudahyun]:**

She has immunity. Car Repairs Immunity.

Tell Jeongyeon.

 

**[Jeonggay]:**

SPIT IT OUT!

 

**[Chaechae]:**

I was with Tzuyu but that’s nothing.

**_Jeonggay_ ** _ is starting a group call. _

 

**[Chaechae]:**

CHAEYOUNG IS DEAD! STOP CALLING!

  
  


**_Dubudahyun_** _joined the group call._

 

**[Chaechae]:**

Fucking peer pressure. FINE!

 

**_Chaechae_ ** _ joined the group call. _

  
  


///

  
  


“I told you guys, it’s not a big deal.” Chaeyoung says for the umpteenth time in a phone call that’s currently running for 75 minutes and counting. Her ear was already burning. Her second one, actually. The first ear was fried half an hour ago. “Besides, it’s not like it’s gonna change things between us.”

 

“But that’s the thing! Something changed!” Jeongyeon practically screams. Chaeyoung had to pull her phone away for a quick second before pressing it back to her ear. “You would not have ended up taking her home if things were the same!”

 

“Jeong, please.” Chaeyoung says in a cross between a growl and a groan. “Leaving someone for the bears is something that can really change someone’s five year plan! Besides, I just thought of what Dahyun would do.”

 

“And look how that worked out for Dahyun!” Jeongyeon laughed harder.

 

“Oh, shut up!” Dahyun’s voice cuts through but was drowned out by the annoying cackling. “Sana and I are friends. Why can’t Chaeyoung and Tzuyu?”

 

“You are friends now, Dahyun.” Jeongyeon tried to catch her breath. Apparently, too much laughing can tire you out. “What about in the next couple of months. I’m just saying, why can’t Chae consider dating Chewy?”

 

“Why do you keep pushing this?” Chaeyoung could only mumble, very much on the brink of being fed up. “Do you have some bet to win?”

 

“No! Of course not!” Jeongyeon quickly defends. “I just don’t like you to dismiss the idea entirely. I mean, this can be good for you.”

 

“Good for me, how?” Chaeyoung surrendered, pressing the sole of her palms deep against her eye.

 

“I want you to dig deep. Why did you even drag her out with you? You could’ve left her in the garage.” Jeongyeon said. Chaeyoung doesn’t have to see it but she knew Jeongyeon shrugged smugly.

 

“It’s not a big deal.” Chaeyoung says once more, a bit slowly and with more stress. Maybe it would punch through her friends’ thick heads for a change. But in the midst of convincing them and thinking about the answer to Jeongyeon’s question, Chaeyoung got lost into whether she’s convincing her friends or convincing herself.

 

“Anyways,” Dahyun cleared, her throat, making her friends anticipate whatever she’s about to say. “Sana asked me if it’s okay to share your contact details with Chewy.”

 

“No.” Chaeyoung’s denial was quick.

 

“Your call, Chae.” Dahyun said in a sing-song voice, and Chaeyoung knew that she’s about to be pushed. “By the way, Chewy says, and I’m quoting this from Sana, ‘Chae is the cutest thing.’”

 

“Ooooh! Snap!” Jeongyeon practically screamed, beginning the end of Chaeyoung’s defeat. “Look at that first impression! That’s tens across the broad form our judges!”

 

“I’m just saying, dude.” Now it was Dahyun’s turn to insist. “This shouldn’t stop you from making friends.”

 

“Fine.” Chaeyoung mumbled.

 

“Fine what?” Dahyun asked with Chaeyoung knowing too well that she’s smiling.

 

“Fine,” Chaeyoung forced out a groan. “You guys win.”

 

“So, I’ll give your number to Tzuyu?”

 

“What will I do to you if this is just some prank?” Chaeyoung demanded, well aware of her position in the high school jungle. Stupid prank calls are not new. Mostly her reason that she never kept any SNS accounts.

 

“Whatever it is that you deem worthy.” Dahyun agreed confidently, much to Jeongyeon’s amusement, until Dahyun added a caveat. “Jeongyeon included.”

 

“Hey! What the fuck?” Jeongyeon protests.

 

“Deal!” But Chaeyoung accepts.

 

///

  
  


**Tzuyu Chou** _ has added you. _

 

Chaeyoung’s phone chimes in with a notification. It was Tzuyu, and three dots jumping in alternate timing. Chaeyoung wasn’t necessarily excited, but she wasn’t too indifferent about it either. The feeling surprised her, too, although it wasn’t enough to make her message Tzuyu first.

 

As the dots continued to bounce, Chaeyoung’s eyes wandered off to Tzuyu’s picture. She has a small dog. A Pomeranian. Probabl — if Chaeyoung was to base her guess on her extensive experience in weekend dog-walking. Tzuyu’s holding her close. She must love her dog so much. She even wore glasses in her picture. A bedtime photo maybe? So Tzuyu was just wearing contacts all along?

 

**[Chou Tzuyu]:**

Hi, Chaeyoung~ :) I had to pull mad strings just to get to you.

 

Tzuyu, already lying on her bed, finally sends her message. She smiled a bit when she saw three dots bouncing beside Chaeyoung’s picture. It was too small for Chaeyoung’s face to be recognizable, but Tzuyu’s kind of sure that she’s talking to the right person. The large mural behind the girl gave it away.

 

**[Chou Tzuyu]:**

Thanks again for today!~

 

**[Son Chaeyoung]:**

No problem. You look different in your glasses.

 

Chaeyoung replied. There were no emojis, but there’s something more than a ‘No problem.’ so Tzuyu’s good with that.

 

**[Chou Tzuyu]:**

Yikes. :/ Is that the good kind or the bad kind?

 

Tzuyu chuckles as she replied.

 

**[Son Chaeyoung]:**

Which one would you like?

 

Chaeyoung sends in her reply in one hand, brushing her teeth with another.

 

**[Chou Tzuyu]:**

Come on. :( You never let me have anything.

  
  


Tzuyu’s eyes slowly blinks. The sleepy daze was catching up to her but she doesn’t want to doze off just yet. At least not until it was Chaeyoung who drops the conversation, which proved to be a challenge when Chaeyoung was taking around five minutes or so to reply back.

  
  


**[Son Chaeyoung]:**

You’ll just have to get used to it. Like your fabulous life. Haha!

  
  


Chaeyoung finally replied, which made Tzuyu laugh a bit louder than she should. In the middle of thinking of a way to banter, she saw another message being typed by Chaeyoung.

 

**[Son Chaeyoung]:**

Anyway, you should go to sleep. School night.

Catch you tomorrow.

 

Okay, the dropping the conversation part seemed to come in quicker than Tzuyu would’ve hoped. But they talked, and compared to how they were in chem lab, she’d still take this as a good sign of things getting better.

 

**[Chou Tzuyu]:**

Aww, yeah. Almost forgot about Monday.

 

Tzuyu messaged back, smiling a bit to herself.

 

**[Chou Tzuyu]:**

Anyway, thanks again! :) See you tomorrow!~

 

**[Son Chaeyoung]:**

Good night!

 

Chaeyoung replied. Tzuyu thought that it’s nothing spectacular. Bordering anti-climactic, almost certainly mundane. But it’s late, and maybe Chaeyoung is as sleepy as her so she tosses her phone beside her pillow and fixed herself in a more comfortable position.

 

It didn’t take too long for her phone to bleep again, though, and if it was Nayeon, Tzuyu would definitely leave her on seen. Maybe another reminder for tomorrow’s practice.

 

Tzuyu tilts her phone, not really lifting it off the bed. She smiles. It wasn’t Nayeon.

 

**[Son Chaeyoung]:**

It’s the good kind.

 

Chaeyoung said, and Tzuyu, with her last minutes of consciousness, puts her phone up over her face.

  
  


**[Chou Tzuyu]:**

What? :)

 

**[Son Chaeyoung]:**

You look different in your glasses. It’s the good kind

 

Even through her sleep glazed eyes, Tzuyu managed to beam at the last message. Her cheeks sinking into dimples. Maybe this isn’t as anti-climactic as she thought it was. Until her grip dozed off and her phone falls flat on her face.

 

“Ow! Fuck!”

 

And they said staying up for someone wouldn’t hurt.

  
  


///

  
  


“Sana.” Dahyun crawls to her window, phone pressed against her ear. “Can you go to your window?”

 

“You want to see me?” Sana laughed on the other line, but she crawled to her window too, nonetheless. “We just saw each other. Stop being so clingy.”

 

“You’re so full of yourself.” Dahyun chuckled when she saw Sana’s curtains part. “Yeah. I wanna see you.” Dahyun added, being a bit more honest.

 

“Okay, babe.” Sana opened her lamp, giving just enough light to let Dahyun discern her face. Dahyun smiled at this, especially when Sana waved her hand a bit. “Hi.”

 

“Hi.” Dahyun waved back. It was so strange having to live with Sana like this. A ridge between them and a neighborhood down hill. They are so near yet so obviously apart. A somber reminder that they are living in two different worlds but somehow finding a way to see each other despite the circumstance. And while they found a way to make it work somehow, Dahyun can’t help but be bothered on how this will fare with their friends. “You think this is good? Chaeyoung and Chewy?”

 

“I don’t see anything bad in it.” Sana shrugs, staring back at Dahyun, living uphill with two-three houses between, and a ridge apart. There’s a cloud of distress. Sana can’t see it from here but she can definitely hear the traces on Dahyun’s voice.

 

“I mean,  _ them  _ being tangled in our mess.” Dahyun sighed, “Chaeyoung might be exposed. Especially when people see her starting to hang out with you guys.”

 

“And?”

 

“Sana,” Dahyun drops her shoulders and paints her face unamused. “They might come for her. Do you understand? She can’t take any more of this.”

 

“Then I’ll deal with it.” Sana reassures quickly.

 

“Deal with what?”

 

“Anyone who goes after her.” Sana shrugs as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Or the most obvious. And for Dahyun, it sounded like Sana doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Dahyun and her friends aren’t the coolest and it’s the kind of life that a campus hearthrob (slash star quarterback slash team captain) never lived.

 

“Sana.” Dahyun warned with a hint of skepticism that Sana caught quite easily.

 

“I got this. Okay?” the quarterback reassured for the second time. Dahyun had every reason to be cautious. She, afterall, is the one who gave Chaeyoung’s number to Tzuyu.

 

But in the middle of all the doubts, it also boils down to one thing: Sana isn’t mean. She’s cool, yes. She knows people in the athletics, yes. But she doesn’t make people’s lives miserable just because she feels like it. The only bad thing she did was to date the head cheerleader and with how things are going, Sana seemed to still have her head in the right place.

 

“Make sure, okay?” Dahyun asked, then pleaded. “Please?”

 

“I got this, Baby. Alright? Don’t worry about it.” Sana smiled, and Dahyun knew she did. Heard she did. And found it hard to hate how comforting it was to get this little assurance from her pretend girlfriend. Someone new to trust. Someone new to handle her thoughts.

 

Dahyun sighed, but this time, out of surrendered content. Sana was good with that, smiling as much as she can in hopes that Dahyun can somehow make it out through the distance between them. The silence that followed told them to hang up but none of them seemed too interested to do so. At least not yet.

 

“So,” Sana was the first to break. “Our first game is this weekend. You’re coming right?”

 

“Do I have an option to pass up?” Dahyun smirked.

 

“No! You’re my girlfriend, remember?” Sana reasoned a bit loudly. “Girlfriends watch their girlfriends play! It’s in our agreement. Technically. Well within my —.”

 

“Rights. I know, okay?” Dahyun groaned. “I’ll watch. Besides, it’s part of the job as the president. Symbol of scholastic unity.” she said like it was most bullshit thing.

 

“There you go!” Sana celebrated. “Hey, and don’t forget.”

 

“What?”

 

“You better come in as the best supportive girlfriend.”

 

“For someone who got us into this mess, you’re pretty demanding.” Dahyun perked her brow and squinted her eyes. Bit by bit, these nightly phone calls feels like talking face to face where habits and expressions gets thrown around quite instinctively.

 

“Hey, it wasn’t me who stole  _ my  _ jacket.” Sana goes in for the checkmate. Something she’s been doing quite frequently much to Dahyun’s annoyance. But still, Dahyun just scoffs and rolls her eyes. It’s a school night and she can’t give Sana the satisfaction.

 

“You know what? You suck.” Dahyun could only give a laugh at her rather pathetic comeback. “Good night, Sana.”

 

“See you tomorrow. Good night, Dahyun.” Sana giggled in triumph. But then again, it’s never a bad idea to poke the bear some more. “I luf you.”

 

“Pfft.” Dahyun shakes her head.

 

“Say it.” Sana teased.

 

“We’re not in public. I don’t have to.”

 

“So you want it in public? Okay then!”

 

“Sana, wait! That’s not —.” Then a click. “ — what I meant..”

 

Dahyun felt her heart skip a bit as she pulled her phone away from her ear. Her phone just showed the call’s elapsed time before going back to her wallpaper. Her eyes dart back and forth from her screen and to Sana’s window. The lights on the other room goes off, the curtain closes, and now Dahyun is left with the impression that Sana will put her in another position that she’ll regret.

 

“Oh come on!” Dahyun groaned at the thought of it. She drops into bed and covers her annoyed face with a fluffy pillow. “Dahyun! You just had to choose the stupidest girlfriend!”

  
  


///

 

[ **_(song cue)_ ** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MR3wfzLOio)

 

New school week. Monday crashes in just like how it has always did — sudden and unwelcomed. And while most of the students of Atteridge are bargaining for five more minutes of sleep, there are a bunch of people who are quite stoked to start the week.

 

Mina leans closer to the mirror, dabbing some light lip gloss while still looking tight in her fitted long-sleeved maroon turtleneck, dark jeans, and some classic canvas sneakers. Her phone lights up when a message comes in and Mina allows herself to be distracted for a moment. It was Momo promising her that she’s on her way. Mina just chuckled at the message as she went back on doing her eyeliner. She has time. If Momo said she’s on her way, Mina knows that she’s just getting ready.

 

The natural sequence would’ve been bath, brush, underwear, shirt, then shorts, then jacket, then socks, but Momo has always been panicky if she thinks she’s gonna get in trouble with Mina. With her toothbrush jammed in her mouth, Momo hops around in front of the mirror in her underwear as she was trying to put on her left sock. At this pace, breakfast would be eaten in the car. But at least she’ll make it to Mina’s on time.

 

Jihyo ties her hair in a ponytail then tugs down on her cropped denim jacket to fix it in place. Like Sana, she’ll be going to school in yoga pants again. They’ll have football practice this afternoon since their first game is just around the corner. She checks her reflection once more before blasting a message in the team chat. Somewhere in the city, a member of the Atteridge Football Team jumps off the bed because anyone who comes in late today will be running extra laps — as per Jihyo’s ‘friendly reminder’.

 

Nayeon turns her left shoulder and checks on how she looked in the mirror. Quite satisfied on how her tennis dress hugged her figure, she turns to her right shoulder and checks if she looks good on that angle as well. Her long wavy hair framed her face beautifully, making her face look like it’s practically glowing. She doesn’t care if she takes forever dressing up every morning. Art takes time and she’s no exception, especially now that looking good doesn’t only bolster her reputation as the role model for the cheer team, but also because she wants her girlfriend to swoon. Even if nobody believes that she has one.

 

Standing in front of the mirror with The Naked and Famous blasting out, Jeongyeon rams her shirt into the waist of her ankle cut acid wash jeans. It was an old shirt that would pass as a home-wear but Jeongyeon’s style breathed life into her oversized ‘Camp Grizzly’ shirt she got from sixth grade. Jeongyeon was quite proud on how she still looked stylishly decent, so much so that she takes a snap of it and sends it to her friends. On the background, her sister was screaming for her to turn the music down.

 

Chaeyoung was fixing her hair in front of the mirror when she saw her phone light up. She glances down and sees the expected people on her notifications. Jeongyeon sends a picture to the group, and Dahyun greets the both of them ‘Good morning!’ — usual things, until another person chimed in another window. She greets Chaeyoung good morning too but the girl just went back to fixing her hair, a small smile forming on her face.

 

Tzuyu tucks her shirt inside her denim shorts, and checks if she’s ready to go. Cheer practice will kill her off later but at least she has to look good for the first part of her day. She ties her hair in a neat ponytail before heading out of the bathroom. There is something exciting about going to school today for some reason, so much so that she forgot that her vision is kinda blurry without the right things. She rushes back to the bathroom, sees her contacts, but grabs her glasses instead. She’s in the mood to look different today. The good kind.

 

Sana looks at herself in the mirror, quite satisfied on how she could still rock her usual training get up of a hoodie and yoga pants. Snug fabric hugging her in all the right places, and it just goes to show that she’s physically worthy of being a team captain. Practice season is in full swing and it became surprisingly bearable with the help of her friends and a specific person who she frequently spends her time with. It’s Monday, which means she’s gonna see Dahyun today. Which also means she’ll have more moments to tease the shit out of the president.

 

No one ever told her that getting revenge for an ex would be this interesting.

 

Dahyun looks at herself in the mirror as she pressed her hands down her lightly patterned sundress. She donned her long peach cardigan, making sure that she looked neat in all angles. There is an obligation in looking sharp (not necessarily pretty). Unlike Nayeon whose only sole purpose is to turn heads, Dahyun has to make sure that she’d always look professional. Or at least that’s how Dahyun convinces herself nowadays, because as much as she tried to deny, she wants to look cute for Sana.

 

Not for Sana, specifically, but because being with Sana warrants a new level of attention that even she is not used to. It’s a different feeling — being a girlfriend of someone.

 

She wears her hair down, combed and untousled, then she reaches for her phone when she saw it light up.

 

“Hi, Sana!” she runs out of the bathroom and grabs her things. “Yeah! I’ll be out in five minutes! I made you breakfast.”

  
  


///

  
  


Dahyun gets off Sana’s jeep, only to be welcomed by the scrutinizing eyes of the parking lot populace. She really thought that she’d get used to this by now, but the variety of stares are just too much to shrug off. She felt small, and the enormous parking space felt a bit more claustrophobic with nowhere to sneak or hide.

 

She almost had to run but she felt herself being pulled closer and inside someone.

 

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” Sana whispers in her ear as she threw her arm around Dahyun’s shoulder, pulling her close enough that they are rib to rib. “I thought you’d be used to it by now. You know, being the president and all?”

 

“I’m not that kind of popular, Sana.” Dahyun shakes her head and hugs her laptop closer to her chest. Being wrapped by Sana felt surprisingly comfortable. That even when people are looking, Sana’s arms felt strangely safe.

 

“I find that hard to believe.” Sana chuckles, as they made their way inside. “Don’t you have like secret admirers or anything?”

 

“No! What the hell?” Dahyun laughed like Sana said the stupidest thing.

 

“I dunno.” Sana shrugs. “You’re pretty cute.”

 

“Sana, it’s too early for this. Stop.” Dahyun whined. Sana says the stupidest things and these blatant compliments are not an exception. But still, she allows herself to walk all the way to the DMZ (aka The Council Room) into what has come to be a side hug.

 

“What? No one’s ever told you that?” Sana laughed at Dahyun’s reaction. “Must be super lucky of you to have me as your first girlfriend then.” She pulls Dahyun closer, to which the president didn’t do too much to protest except to roll her eyes and let out an ‘Ew’. All the while, Sana’s eyes locked on to the two girls that were staring at her from the end of the hallway. “Here we are.” she says when they finally reached their destination.

 

Dahyun breaks off from Sana’s arms and walked towards the door. But before she could even open it, Sana plants her hand against the door with a slam and leans closer to the president.

 

“Hey.” Dahyun’s voice shakes. Sana was close. Way too close. Way too close for that overly charming smirk, and her raven locks falling beautifully on the side of her face. “Wait, Sana.” she hated how her voice sounded so weak but it’s early, and she can taste Sana’s minty breath against her lips. “Wha —.”

 

“The ex,” Sana’s nose grazed up against Dahyun’s smooth cheek. “Is watching.”

 

Dahyun unclenches her lungs a bit when the suddenness of Sana’s actions made sense. She turns her head away a bit because a little more than that and their lips would meet.

 

“Can you warn me next time?” Dahyun whispered much into corner of Sana’s lips rather than to Sana herself.

 

Before she could even figure out what’s happening, she could feel Sana soft lips plant a gentle searing kiss on her cheek. It was enough to wash of every lingering sleep left in her person, and more than enough to make her heart pound like sledgehammer.

 

“You’re really cute, you know that?” Sana practically moans inside Dahyun’s ear. The moment was quick, but Dahyun’s thoughts seemed to run it in loops much to her annoyance. Sana was just teasing, right? It must be. And as soon as Sana pulls away, Dahyun felt a quick pinch on her cheek. “I’ll see you at practice!”

 

The voice seemed distant now. Maybe two, three steps away from her and counting. Dahyun finally looks at Sana, and the quarterback just gave her a wink and a smug smile as she walked backwards. Dahyun could only watch as Momo and Jihyo throw their arms over the captain, and when they greeted Dahyun, the president could only muster a small wave.

 

That would definitely give Nancy a run for her money, Sana thought, and Dahyun was playing her part pretty damn well.

 

Dahyun doesn’t notice how long she has been standing there, watching, until she felt someone slap her shoulder with the back of the hand. Dahyun wakes up from whatever thoughts that were running in her head and the first thing she sees is Jeongyeon looking at her weird.

 

“Hey, what’s up with you?” Jeongyeon asked.

 

“What?” Dahyun hid her clouded thoughts with a defensive frown. Dahyun just waved her hand in front of her lips and took in a deep breath. “It’s nothing. Let’s begin the scrum.”

 

“Attention, Comrades of the Soviet Union!” Jeongyeon flaunted her good marks in History as she opened the door for Dahyun. “Captain on the bridge!”

  
  


///

  
  


Sana and Dahyun have been at it for weeks but until now they never got around their unbound rules on lunch tables. At this point, one would’ve assumed that they’d sit together but Dahyun is still seated with her clique, and Sana is still hanging out with her team. It didn’t bother them as much since they don’t come in at the same time — Dahyun having short meetings before lunch and would only come in 10 minutes in to lunch. Then there’s the high school jungle where people are seated to where they’re supposed to be.

 

“Not sitting with Sana again today?” Jeongyeon leaned and whispered to Dahyun as they both approached their table.

 

“We’re still figuring out that part but come on, Jeong. I’m not gonna let Chaeyoung sit with the athletes.” Dahyun leaned towards Jeongyeon too but she kept her head down when she glanced at Sana’s group. “It’s either we eat together, or Chaeyoung doesn’t eat at all.”

 

“Fair point.” Jeongyeon carefully placed her tray down. “But if you’re gonna keep up with appearances, you might wanna consider. And maybe slip Chaeyoung through the backdoor to get her to Chewy.”

 

Dahyun sighs, then takes a seat in front of Chaeyoung and Jieun. Jeongyeon’s band mate has always been the perfect candidate as the fourth lunch person considering the merits that: One, Lee Jieun is Jeongyeon’s bandmate and is a senior. And two, she never really speaks much. She’s there and not there at the same time, with random soft grunts and questions to let people know that she’s still alive.

 

At the same time, Nayeon, Mina, and Tzuyu walk across the cafeteria, turning heads as they go. It was a pretty normal thing considering that the three of them are cheerleaders. If it’s just based on looks alone, the three of them walking together is like watching a girl group on TV. Ask anyone from Atteridge and they’ll say the same thing.

 

Jieun, of course, is almost immune to their charms since she never really cared much. Much like Chaeyoung, who apparently has her hand raised a bit, making a small wave like a lover in secret names. Chaeyoung is not one to interact too much, so in the rare time that she did, Jieun can’t help but give in to her curiosity.

 

“Huh.” Jieun mumbles when she finally finds whoever Chaeyoung was looking at. Tzuyu was smiling and waving at their table. Unlike Chaeyoung’s shy and almost unnoticeable greeting, Tzuyu’s was more obvious and expressive, making Jieun think that they’re not some two different people merely existing together.

 

She followed Tzuyu with her eyes. Watched how her grin faded into a small content smile. How she linked arms with Mina. And how the other cheerleaders seemed to look at her like she did something wrong.

 

“What was that about?” Jieun plucked seemingly random notes from her guitar, her eyes still watching how the other cheerleaders being too overly friendly to Tzuyu as if they never looked at her funny just moments ago.

 

“Hm?” Chaeyoung perked up, caught unguarded by Jieun’s sudden interest.

 

“You friends with Chewy or something?” Jieun said without any form of pointing. Chaeyoung just followed where Jieun was looking at and saw Tzuyu hanging out with Mina, Nayeon, and some cheerleaders.

 

“We..” Chaeyoung bowed her head low, glancing a bit at Jieun’s direction. There was a conflict in her head to whether or not Tzuyu is not just so mere stranger anymore. “We are okay.” Chaeyoung answered, settling with the safest description that she could think of. “I think?”

 

“Huh.” Jieun grunted. Figuring that that’s enough talking for the day, Jieun went back to just strumming some chords on her guitar. And in the silence of her thoughts, she can’t help but notice more interesting things. As she looked at the congregation of cheerleaders once more, she noticed that Nayeon kept stealing glances at their table. Was she looking at Dahyun? Or Jeongyeon? Because it’s obviously not her and Chaeyoung — they’re not in her vantage point.

 

“Hey, IU.” Jeongyeon drums the table to get the guitarist’s attention. Jieun, finding it too tedious to speak, just raised her brows to acknowledge her bandmate. “You’re not touching your soda, are you?” Jeongyeon points at the unopened Sprite.

 

Jieun just shoos her hand towards Jeongyeon, telling her that she can have it. She looks at the cheerleaders once more, only to find Nayeon’s annoyed frown glaring right back at her. It didn’t last long, though, because as soon as Nayeon realized that Jieun caught her looking, Nayeon looked back at her friends and laughed at whatever they’re laughing about.

 

“But dogs, holy shit.” Jisoo laughed with the cheer team, Nayeon finally joining in. “I wanted to have a dog that I can train to run with the leash on and then bump into some girl and I’ll be like ‘Oh, my god. I am so sorry. Oh wait, they’re humping. Oh, okay? Hey you wanna?’” everyone laughs as Jisoo continued her story. “Like, I shit you not, my sister had her dog loose and she came back with hickies and without underwear. I swear to god! Dogs. Nayeon, you should get one.”

 

Nayeon laughed, bunny teeth and all, and slaps Jisoo’s shoulder. Thinking about what Nayeon said to them back at the diner, Mina and Tzuyu waited for the vice-captain to say that she didn’t need a dog to get a girl because she already has one. But instead, Nayeon just shook her head and turned her attention to Tzuyu instead.

 

“So,” Nayeon opened her bottle of water and smiled like she was getting into some kind of secret, “How’s it going with Little Miss Artsy?”

 

“Yeah, you guys already talked?” Mina leaned close and low towards Tzuyu. At first, Tzuyu was silent about it, trying her best to avert her shy gaze away from her friends. She felt Nayeon kick her leg from under the table and Mina leaned against her shoulder so hard just to force her to talk. “You did, didn’t you?”

 

Tzuyu’s poker face slowly turned into upside down crescent eyes and a sweet small smile. The girls giggled a bit then it was Tzuyu’s turn to clarify things.

 

“We talked.” Tzuyu says, pausing a bit before chasing her words with a clarification “A bit. Okay?”

 

“So you’re friends now?” Mina nudged Tzuyu by the shoulder once more.

 

“I don’t know.” Tzuyu sighed. “I mean, I hope? She’s my lab partner and we spent the weekend together.”

 

“Who did you spend your weekend with, Chewy?”

 

The three cheerleaders froze up for a quick second when another voice came in from behind Tzuyu. The kind of voice that would reduce everyone else’s into murmurs and quiet whispers. In this side of the cafeteria, and in this crowd, only one person could do that.

 

Nancy takes a seat right beside Tzuyu, giving her an expectant look. She asked a question, so surely, Tzuyu  _ must _ answer.

 

“Uhh.” Tzuyu manages to keep up a smile as she reasoned. “No one important.”

 

Tzuyu looks down on lunch and tried to focus as much on dismissing the conversation. But in her head, visions of her fears began to materialize. Pictures of Haseul’s scooter banged up against a tree, soda bombed lockers, forced march into bathrooms with five different substances in their hair. Things that Chaeyoung had to dodge on the daily.

 

“You seemed pretty excited.” Nancy leans in closer, making Tzuyu very uncomfortable with how the head cheerleader dove into her eyes. “So, lab partner huh.”

 

Tzuyu swallows the lump in her throat when she realized that these breadcrumbs are enough to lead back to Chaeyoung. She doesn’t know what’s in Nancy’s head but Tzuyu just knew she had to keep her away from people.

 

Sensing this, Nancy taps Tzuyu’s nose and smiles warmly.

 

“I saw you say hi to her on your way here. I mean, hey!” the head cheerleader loosens up. “You can hang out with whoever you want. None of my business. I’m just glad you’re making more friends”

 

“Okay.” Tzuyu managed to give a small smile, before looking down on her food. This conversation does not need to continue as far as she’s concerned.

 

“Don’t worry, I don’t play with other people’s  _ charity cases _ . And drop the glasses, Chewy. You look like a damn nerd.” Nancy whispered to Tzuyu, making sure that the conversation is kept between them. Like a cold shower, a realization came over her — there’s a reason why Chaeyoung hated their guts so much. Nancy only chuckled at Tzuyu’s reaction before leaving their small group.

 

“We have practice this afternoon, ladies. Don’t forget.” she flashes her most endearing smile, flexing the badge that made her the head cheerleader in the first place.

 

_ Charity case. _ Whatever the hell did she mean by that? It was only when she felt a hand over hers that Tzuyu realized how tightly her fists were clenched.

  
  
  


///

  
  


The school field was alive up until late afternoon as a combination of the cheer team and the football team practiced for the upcoming first game. Dahyun was there to see it, of course, as it was her new responsibility as a “girlfriend”.

 

One would find it hard to believe that Dahyun and her friends were actually hanging out on this side of the school, especially in this big of an athletic congregation. But here’s Jeongyeon resting her back against the next level of bleachers behind her. Then Chaeyoung, elbows on her knees and chin perched on her balled fists. She has been looking at the other side of the field from time to time, but not at the same direction as Dahyun was looking at.

 

As much as she refused to admit, Dahyun was beginning to enjoy watching Sana lead her team, especially when she shows off her fancy moves whenever they run plays. She finds it difficult to convince herself that Sana wasn’t doing this because she knew Dahyun would be watching, because all things considered, Sana has no reason to do that. This, afterall, is just a big charade.

 

A quick dodge and a quick throw, Sana gets tackled but the ball was already long gone from her hands. The scream of a whistle pierces the air signalling a complete play, then it was time for Sana to wave towards where Dahyun usually sits.

 

Or maybe Dahyun was right. Maybe Sana was there to impress her, even if the thought seemed impossible. Or maybe, she’s just looking too much into it.

 

“Hey,” Jeongyeon spoke up, breaking Dahyun’s thoughts (or lack thereof), “Minjoo is here.”

 

The three of them turned to where the vice-president was sitting. Far in front, almost at the exit. If Dahyun didn’t see her and Yujin at Five Points, Minjoo would’ve looked like she’s just passing by. But now, Dahyun knew somehow why her vice president is here.

 

Jeongyeon waved frantically at Minjoo’s direction like a mascot air dancer in front of a local car dealership. She didn’t stop embarrassing the group because, apparently, getting Minjoo’s attention was of utmost importance. Or at least that’s what Jeongyeon liked to believe.

 

It didn’t take long before Minjoo noticed them, finally stopping Dahyun and Chaeyoung’s thoughts of killing Jeongyeon.

 

“What were you doing there alone?” Dahyun asked. Chaeyoung looked up to her friend, and thank god, Jeongyeon finally stopped dancing.

 

“Err.” Minjoo gave out a shy smile as she walked closer to them. “Waiting. For Yujin.” she admitted anyway since Yujin picks her up post council meetings.

 

“I figured.” Dahyun smiled and patted the spot beside her, “Come. Sit with us.”

 

Minjoo preferred not to, but as Dahyun’s vice president, she complied anyway. It’s not that she doesn’t like Dahyun, but this part of Minjoo’s scholastic life is something that she liked to be kept as discreet as humanly possible.

 

“Who’s that for?” Minjoo points at the small cooler by Dahyun’s feet.

 

“That’s for her girlfriend, so don’t even think of getting some free snacks.” Jeongyeon scoffed, coming from someone who tried to loot the box first.

 

“Shush.” Dahyun shooed her hand towards Jeongyeon. Minjoo chuckled at the banter and accepted Jeongyeon’s answer. Minjoo’s lack of reaction told Dahyun that she might have brought a cooler too at some point in her high school life.

 

“You always eat my breakfast so you don’t have the rights to this conversation.” Dahyun continued.

 

“Seconding the motion.” Chaeyoung piped in, chin nestled on her folded knuckles with her head kind of bouncing when she spoke.

 

“There is no motion to be seconded, and you don’t have seconding powers.” Jeongyeon complained.

 

“She kinda does.” Minjoo winced at her interjection, “Chaeyoung is the president of the AV Club. Thus, a member of the student council, as per our adopted resolution.”

 

“Why are you such a nerd, Minjoo?” Jeongyeon turns to the junior, flashing a frown and a kind of tone

 

“Why are you so in denial that you aren’t?” Minjoo just smirked and shrugged.

 

“Hot damn! Snap!” Chaeyoung laughed with Dahyun, chin still nestled on her knuckles. It was fun seeing Jeongyeon getting slapped by a junior and Dahyun is living for it.

 

“God, you are so like Dahyun.” Jeongyeon conceded before looking to what Chaeyoung was watching. Meanwhile Dahyun chuckled proudly, then turned to Minjoo for a wink. She leaned towards the vice president and in a hushed tone, she made the junior tense up.

 

“Very. Very. Very much alike.” Dahyun whispered. “Quarterbacks, am I right?”

 

“Dahyun.” Minjoo said nervously.

 

“Don’t worry,” Dahyun leaned back and folded her arms loosely below her chest. “I’ll keep my lips shut.”

 

“Thanks.” Minjoo unclenched her chest with a sigh. “It’s just something that we don’t want people intruding in. Personal thing. I mean we’re just friends but..”

 

“I understand.” Dahyun winks and smiles warmly, then Minjoo was reminded on why she admired the president so much. “I just needed someone to exchange notes with.”

 

They both giggled at their shared “pain” — the very reason why they are sitting on the bleachers when the sun is almost disappearing behind the horizon.

 

Practice finally ends for both teams, and Sana quickly jogs up to where Dahyun is. A quick glance to the field, Sana checked if the cheer team is done for the day as well. If that’s the case, her ex is surely watching. If this was Sana’s reason for asking Dahyun to be here today, she’ll never tell. The important thing is she’d have to get whatever this deal with Dahyun could give her.

 

“Hi, babe!” she leans down when Dahyun looks up to her, only to find herself freezing when she felt soft lips pressing against the corner of her lips. Her brain goes to static, which annoys her because these blackouts have been happening far too often. They’ve done this kind of kissing before, but not up close with friends who were watching.

 

“Oh, cool! Post practice snacks!” Jihyo’s eyes lit up, breaking the almost suffocating silence that was filling gaps. “Not even your ex could do this!” then was replaced with a new level of awkward energy.

 

“Really, Jihyo? Really?” Sana squeezed Dahyun’s shoulder.

 

“Oh, shit! I mean, you are way better than her ex.” Jihyo pointed at the captain. “Hi, Miss President!”

 

“Hi, Jihyo.” Dahyun laughs just the same and finally allows the other girl to rummage the cooler. Minjoo excuses herself quietly when she saw the group get a bit distracted by Jihyo’s words. Sana gave Dahyun  _ that  _ look, but the president only pressed her finger over her lips to tell Sana to be quiet.

 

“You do realize that those snacks are prepared for me, right?.” Sana smirked at Jihyo while she struggled on taking off the tape around her finger. Seeing this, Dahyun takes Sana’s hand and carefully did it for her.

 

“What’s up, Jeong? Chae?” Sana nodded to one after the other as Dahyun did her thing.

 

“Hey!” Jeongyeon takes Sana’s high five.

 

“Hey.” while Chaeyoung greeted with a rather small smile but Sana took it anyway. Chaeyoung isn’t rude. She just doesn’t want to extend herself out that much. Sana knows that by now.

 

“Dahyun gave you a hard time today?” Sana teased, her attention directed to Jeongyeon for a brief moment. Dahyun just raised a brow as she balled the finger tape to a size of a pea, then pasted the sticky thing on the hem of Sana’s jersey. A prize for the bullshit that she says.

 

“She almost did,” Jeongyeon shrugged. “But she remembered you guys have practice.”

 

“Did she now?” Sana pinched Dahyun’s chin and it was the president’s turn to flash a very smug smile.

 

“Adjourned the meeting right then and there.” Jeongyeon wiggled her eyebrows as if she’s not upselling Dahyun too much.

 

“Am I not a supportive girlfriend?” Dahyun boasted, finally swatting Sana’s hand off her chin. Sana wanted to bite back, but everyone’s attention turns to the two people who just joined them.

 

It was the cheerleaders. Tzuyu and Nayeon, specifically.

 

“Hi, guys.” Tzuyu was the first one to greet in a sprightly tune, then she turns to the person who has been watching her since practice started. “Hi, Chae.” she smiled, a bit quieter and shy, but immensely relieved that it wasn’t hostile. Finally.

 

“Heya.” Chaeyoung greets back, and there it was again. Squinting eyes and sinking dimples. Sana glanced at Dahyun, having a very short conversation with their eyes.

 

_ She’s not welcoming to me,  _ Sana wiggled her eyebrows at Dahyun. _ But she’s very warm to Chewy. _

 

_ Well, better you than your friend.  _ Dahyun raised her brow and smirked.

 

_ You’re liking this, aren’t you?  _ Sana squints her eyes and turns her head slightly away from the president. Dahyun just rolled her eyes playfully, not giving Sana the answer she wanted.

 

Then there’s Nayeon, making her presence known just by her looks alone.

 

“Hi, Dahyun! Chae.” she smiled and waved at the two then totally changed her expression into an annoyed frown once her eyes met with the person she specifically singled out. “You make stupid dancing look stupid. I’m actually impressed.”

 

“Well, hello to you, too.” Jeongyeon slouched back on the bleacher and grinned. “You went all the way up here just to tell me that? I must be someone special.”

 

“You fantasize about me that often? Damn.” Nayeon clicked her tongue.

 

“I don’t know, you watch me that often?” Jeongyeon was quick to snap back, and everyone’s eyes were now on the both of them.

 

“Oh, you would be so pleased with that. Won’t you, perv?” Nayeon raised a brow and smirked.

 

“Not as much as you’d enjoy it.” Jeongyeon wiggled her eyebrows.

 

“Damn, holy shit! You two!” Jihyo, after being left alone with the cooler, finally snapped at them. “Just make out already!”

 

“Eww!” Nayeon and Jeongyeon turned to Jihyo, scoffed at her, then looked at each other, then groaned in what one can only guess as disgust.

 

“Who’s making out?” Momo piped up, from behind the cheerleaders with Mina’s arm wrapped around hers. Mina gave a quiet yet enthusiastic smile to Dahyun, to which the president returned with an equal gesture. Dahyun on the bleachers every practice day isn’t a foreign idea now, and Mina found that very amusing.

 

“Momo, heads!” Jihyo called out as she tossed a small bottle of chocolate milk to Momo. Most probably from the cooler.

 

“Nice!” Momo shook the small bottle then showed it to Mina.

 

“Hey! That’s mine!” Sana protested. Mina threatened to open the bottle, while Jihyo was reading the label on the sports drink. It was apparent that they’re not listening, so Sana turns to the embodiment of scholastic justice. “Dahyun, they’re taking my snacks!”

 

“You are their captain, Sana. Not me.” Dahyun shrugged, much to Momo and Jihyo’s approval.

 

“You are the president!” Sana threw her hands in the air. “Which make you team captain of the whole student body!”

 

“I’m not sure if I’m gonna be flattered but I’m pretty sure you are over exaggerating the extent of my power.” Dahyun winced at the rather unpopular statement. To how Sana even thought of that was beyond Dahyun’s understanding.

 

“Give me that! Get a girlfriend!” Sana snatched her treat from Momo’s hand, Nayeon and Tzuyu exchanging weird glances on Sana’s words. “That goes for you, too!” Sana turned to Jihyo and stuffed her snacks back into the cooler. “Touching stuff that  _ my  _ girlfriend painstakingly prepared.”

 

“It actually says Walmart on the receipt so.” Jeongyeon pointed her lips towards the pricetag.

 

“Painstakingly prepared and bought!” Sana corrected then turned at the band girl. “You know what, Jeong?” Sana exhaled calmly with her hand over her heart. “I am not your enemy here. It’s only Nayeon.”

 

“Hey!” Nayeon slapped Sana’s shoulders, and she slapped it hard.

 

The entire group, all nine of them, were reduced to laughters thanks to the bickering band girl and the cheer team vice captain. Soon enough, the football girls needed to go back to the pitch. Sana pinched Dahyun’s chin again and tilts her girlfriend’s head up so that their eyes would meet.

 

“I’ll just finish up and shower, then we can go home.” Sana said, finding a bit strange that it felt nice using the word ‘we’ for some reason.

 

“You’re still good to drive?” Dahyun said, her question with a hint of worry. “I can drive us if you want to rest.”

 

“You sure?” Sana asked in return, not quite used to being this pampered.

 

“Yeah.” Dahyun nodded with a smile.

 

“One thing I hate about Dahyun having a girlfriend is that we don’t have a designated driver anymore.” Jeongyeon whined, making sure to let their presence be known. And at that point, everyone just knew that Nayeon just rolled her eyes.

 

“Weird way to brag about how useless you are, but go ahead. It’s a free country.” Nayeon winked at Jeongyeon, and the band girl just made face in return.

 

“Hey, Chae.” Jeongyeon turns her head lazily towards the youngest in the bunch. “Gonna run some things with the Gazette, then we can go home. You good with waiting?”

 

“Will you take long?” Chaeyoung winced, and thank the universe Tzuyu has always been the one to read the room. Receptive. Especially to Chaeyoung.

 

“I’ll drive you home!” Tzuyu coaxed. Too quick. Maybe too eager. “I mean, I can drive you home if Jeongyeon can’t.”

 

“Yeah, Chae! Why don’t you let Chewy drive you home?” Jeongyeon’s eyes lit up to the highly appreciated offer. Chaeyoung shrinked when she felt eyes staring down at her, anticipating an answer that she’s too pressured to give.

 

“It’s not really —. I mean, I don’t want to trouble Chewy.” she refused, but this time, she made sure that it’s as polite and as friendly as it could sound.

 

“It’s totally fine!” Tzuyu insisted, even sounding a bit more pushy. “Please? We won’t break down in the middle of the road. I promise!” and they both laughed at the shared experience.

 

“Dude. She just advertised how bad her car is. In front of all of us. If that ain’t showing how okay she is with this, I don’t know what is.” Jeongyeon quipped. But only because she knew how Chaeyoung would fold if everyone’s expectant silence becomes too much for Chaeyoung to bear. “Come on, Chae.”

 

“Fine.” Chaeyoung conceded, and Tzuyu doesn’t know why she’s suddenly excited. “As soon as you’re ready, then.” she smiled much to everyone’s relief.

 

A relief that is, unfortunately, short lived. Because as Sana steps down on the bleachers, she turns to Dahyun at the last minute. Sana has looked at Dahyun in different ways and every time the quarterback does, Dahyun knew exactly when Sana is in the mood to be ‘up to no good’. Smirk, daring eyes, and perked brows.

 

“What the fuck is she thinking now..” Dahyun mumbled inaudibly. And right on cue, Sana beams. Dahyun saw it in the pep muster. She saw it whenever Sana kisses her in public. She saw it whenever Sana is up to no good.

 

“I luf you!”

 

Three words. Spoken as clear as day. Three words that were more than enough to make Dahyun’s body tense up in the weirdest ways. Three words that all nine of them understood.

 

Eyes quickly turned to Dahyun. The range of reactions from people were hard to miss even if she’s only seeing them in her peripheral. There should be a way out of this but her thoughts fizzle out into uselessness. Those three words were substitutes for the real thing, and saying such doesn’t make this relationship to be true. But Sana’s friends don’t know that. They only know that Dahyun has to say these three words back because anything less than that is suspiciously hostile.

 

_ Say it back. _ Sana’s eyes dared her. Dahyun’s eyes narrowed. Very subtly that only Sana noticed.  _ Say it back, baby. In front of all of them. _

 

Any second more of this silence risks this whole charade.

 

“Don’t take too long, baby.” Dahyun’s finally smiled warmly. If she’s gonna be a pretend girlfriend, she’ll make sure that she’s the best one there is. “I luf you, too.”

 

Jeongyeon flicked her wrist and made a whip cracking sound which made Nayeon laugh out loud, bunny teeth showing. This was the first time that the two agreed on something and Dahyun hated the fact that she’s on the receiving end of it. She lets it pass, much like everyone else’s reaction to this short exchange, and in between the giggles, Dahyun found Sana’s brown eyes.

 

The smile that Dahyun gave was sweet, but Sana knew it meant something else. Dahyun won’t let this go unanswered.

 

And that’s fine. Sana thinks Dahyun is adorable like that.

 

(Later, while they’re both in the car on their way home, Sana just kept on laughing when Dahyun kept pounding her fist on Sana’a shoulders.)

 

From the other end of the pitch, a girl watches as this scene unfolded. It didn’t take too long before another girl joins her, also carefully scrutinizing Dahyun and Sana’s group.

 

“Would you look at that.” Nancy smirked. “Does Sana really think she could just go prance around and replace me? Funny.”

  
  


///

  
  


Waiting for Nayeon has never been a problem to Mina and Momo. Not when waiting for the vice captain consisted of both of them sitting in the backseat of Momo’s car, both their legs extended and tangled over the center console. Mina would usually play games on her phone while she snuggled herself against Momo’s ribs. Momo, meanwhile, would be busy reading on tweets and Reddit subs. Mina has always been up to discuss whatever Momo brings up, and this has been a habit they formed whenever Nayeon asks to be driven home.

 

“Huh.” Momo mumbled.

 

“Why? What are you reading?” Mina said, eyes still glued on whatever game she was playing. The silence that followed piques Mina’s curiosity. She glances up to Momo, only to find her best friend staring out into the front of the car. Or whatever’s in front of the car.

 

“Isn’t that Yujin?” Momo squinted her eyes and honed her sights on the couple talking in hushed tones by the far end of the parking lot. Mina turned to where Momo is looking at and confirmed the white baseball cap and the junior who looks a lot like their Chewy.

 

“Yeah. Why?” Mina responded nonchalantly, then she went back to her game.

 

“Hold up. Who is she talking — oh. Oh! That’s the vicey! Chewy Jr.!” There was an unmistakable giddiness in Momo’s tone. Like someone who’s about to use a secret information to bargain. “Holy fuck!” Momo aimed her phone up and discreetly took a photo of the two.

 

“Momo,” Mina puts her hand over Momo’s phone and pushes it down gently. “I think that’s a bad idea. Leave her alone.” she further warns.

 

“It’s not like I’m gonna parade it around.” Momo reasoned back. “Come on. I bet the council people knew about this anyway.”

 

“Just let her be.” Mina met Momo’s eyes with a stern look, and Momo’s isn’t someone who would test that. At least not openly.

 

“Okay!” Momo shrugged. “Fine!” then dropped the entire thing completely. There isn’t much to see on the internet anyway and she’s starting to get antsy with Nayeon’s prolonged absence. “Where’s Nayeon anyway?”

 

“Momo, sorry!” Nayeon appeared on the side of Momo’s car on cue. Mina, still lying on Momo, just raised her hand for a small smile and wave. Nayeon grinned in response then shifted her gaze to Momo once more. “Uhh, I forgot something in my locker. You guys go on ahead.”

 

“You sure?” Momo squinted her eyes.

 

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Nayeon nodded, and it was enough for the two to rearrange themselves. “See you guys tomorrow!”

 

Waiting for Nayeon has never been a problem to Mina and Momo. Even if she cancels on the last minute. Besides, Mina is almost sure that Momo wants her close as much as she does. Backseat car rides included.

 

~

 

Only, Nayeon didn’t go back to her locker.

 

Instead, she ran to the corner of a street, far enough that no other school kid is in sight. It didn’t even take a minute when a car stopped right in front of her with the windows rolled down. A girl peeks down and beams.

 

“I told you I don’t like the thought of you going home alone.” the girl greeted. “Pretty dangerous.”

 

“I don’t take rides from strangers.” Nayeon rolled her eyes and chuckles.

 

“Might be your only chance.”

 

“I hate you.” Nayeon said, her words not matching the bright smile that she was wearing. Upon seeing this, a grin started creeping on the lips of the girl behind the wheel.

 

“Hop in!” she said, and Nayeon did what she was told. She tossed her bag in between the seats like she has been in this car far too many times. Her gym bag, books, and jacket were now mixed with her girlfriend’s guitar and rucksack. Then, with the click on her seatbelt, the car merged into the street traffic.

 

“Looks like your plans are pushing through.” Nayeon flipped down the sun visor and checked her reflection in the small mirror.

“You’ve really thought this through.”

 

“I’m a thinker person, bunny baby.” the other girl smiled and kissed her girlfriend’s cheek, making Nayeon wince in a really giddy mood. “I think about things. Besides, it’s  _ our  _ plan.”

 

“Oh my god! You’re really driving your girlfriend home this time!” Nayeon sank into her chair with a satisfied sigh. “Been a long time, babe.”

 

And it has been. With the current situation at school, they both settled for a compromise to preserve what they have. Keeping it a secret from their friends as well, when it came to that. For now, they’re both satisfied with how things are turning out. And maybe, just maybe, they can get out of this bubble soon.

 

In the meantime, they are content with The Naked and Famous blasting out while they drive through downtown. Content with how their fingers fit perfectly together, hands resting on Nayeon’s lap. Content with how they managed to slip in a time for each other during a school week. Content with each other’s warm company.

  
  


///

  
  


In the days that followed, Sana and Dahyun’s responsibilities for each other blended into their habits. It was apparent when Dahyun would prepare her checklist for the day, only to find that she had been spending almost every afternoon on council meetings and football practices. In these days (see:  _ everyday _ ), it’s always a guessing game on whatever Sana’s intending to do.

 

On “tame” days, the uneventful ones that Dahyun’s much more accustomed to, it’s just surprise back hugs, or Sana’s arm subtly snaking around Dahyun’s slim waist. It would be almost always too late when Dahyun gets a grip on what’s happening, and when she does, she’d always find Nancy and her cohorts looking at their direction. Then, it’s followed by Sana lightly tracing invisible circles on her thinly clothed skin. On these days , Dahyun doesn’t find it difficult anymore if Sana chose to speak really really close. Sure, Dahyun would pull her head back a bit, but Sana’s pretty cute up close so she doesn’t complain too much.

 

On “wilder” days, the eventful ones that Dahyun struggles on, it’s being cornered against the wall and speaking into each other’s lips. Dahyun haven’t got around this one and it’s a good thing Nancy can’t actually hear the president spit expletives into Sana’s parted lips.

 

“God fucking damn it! Can you at least warn me?” Dahyun veered her head away a bit. A little too close and their lips might actually touch. “I might kiss you accidentally or something.”

 

“Which is a really fortunate outcome, don’t you think?” Sana smirked, and the hints of white cotton and citrus were quick to invade Dahyun’s senses.

 

“You wish.” Dahyun scoffed, her warm breath grazing over Sana’s lips.

 

“Please. You never thought about it?” There was a challenge in Sana’s tone, and Dahyun could only clutch her books tighter over her chest. Dahyun never thought about kissing Sana. She dreamt about it, though. Vividly. Like it wasn’t a god damn dream.

 

(“Fucking hell? You’re supposed to forget about it few seconds after waking up!” Dahyun groaned as she pushed her laptop screen down shut.)

 

And as soon as the memories of that dream came flooding in, Dahyun had to muster everything she has just to stop her thoughts from getting lost in the picture.

 

“No.” Dahyun chuckled. “I never  _ ever  _ thought about it.”

 

Sana let out a forced laughter, sounding disappointed. Which was strange. Or maybe Dahyun was just imagining things. Her damn brain has this habit of melting into mush when Sana’s breath brush against her lips, so maybe it was just something she just misread.

 

“I mean,” Dahyun mumbled, but it was too late. Sana got off her. Then her thoughts raced in to two different directions. One, why did she even try to take back what she just said? Two, if Nancy and her squad of squeaks were watching, why didn’t Sana give her a goodbye kiss to (the corner of) her lips? It’s not like she wanted it. It’s all for the show. At least that’s what Dahyun told herself.

 

But through all the confused thoughts, through all of the emotions, and all through the pretends, their days always end with Dahyun taking her turn to drive them both home. An unspoken agreement that was born out of Dahyun’s genuine concern for her (girl)friend, Sana.

 

Unlike their socially energized school days where they put up with their respective roles in the scholastic society, the drives going home are safe spaces where Sana feels like she doesn’t need to impress Dahyun too much. They sing out loud to guilty pleasure songs. Talk about farts. Switch between who gets to pay in the drive through. Try rapping and be bad at it (Dahyun is actually pretty good at this). Or do stupid things like licking the french fries that Dahyun got from the drive-through.

 

It was ironic, but the good kind. Because despite the show that they put on the daily, in this car, Sana feels like she never needed to be cool. She just needed to be herself.

 

Then, there are times where Sana shares how dangerous her sport is. Not because she’s bragging, but because she loves how Dahyun reacts to it. Sana can’t tell which is President Dahyun or Just Dahyun, because they seem to just say the same things. The quarterback doesn’t complain, though. She loves the attention.

 

“I’m just saying, you should be a bit more careful.” Dahyun glanced at the side mirror and took a turn.

 

“I can’t be careful. You can’t hold back in this sport.” Sana argued in a matter-of-factly tune.

 

“I find that hard to believe.”

 

“Are you scared of seeing me get hurt?” Sana smirked, expecting some kind of confession from Dahyun.

 

“Of course!” Dahyun frowned, like it was a very obvious answer to the question. “You’re our captain. Of course I don’t like seeing you getting hurt.”

 

“You know,” Sana laughed. “You kept on saying that you don’t like me, when in fact, you do.”

 

“What?” Dahyun frowned then turned her eyes back into the road. “When?”

 

“Almost every time!”

 

“That’s just because you’re annoying. But as annoying as you can be, you’re my friend now, Sana.” Dahyun glanced at girl on the passenger seat, their eyes meeting for a short but warm moment. “I thought you said that we can fake date but that doesn’t mean we can’t be real friends? I mean, I am driving you home right now.”

 

“How could one argue against such compelling reason?” Sana bit her lip into a smile as she pinched Dahyun’s cheek. The president doesn’t fight back. Not that she has a choice since she’s preoccupied with driving. “You’re really cute, you know that?”

 

“Yeah.” Dahyun rolled her eyes and chuckled. “You told me a lot of times already.”

 

“And you loved it every single time, you fisher.” Sana teased and it’s another punch to her shoulder. “Ow!” but she continued laughing anyway.

 

Just like always, Dahyun would pull up in their cul de sac where she gets off. Sana would drive the rest of the way from here on, but only after she walks Dahyun inside for a proper goodbye. A hug, a chaste kiss on the cheek (if her dad’s at home), then it’s Dahyun’s reminders for Sana to message her when she gets home. You know, because anyone wants to make sure if their girlfriend got home safely.

 

Their relationship isn’t rocket science. It’s just Dahyun’s most basic nature of caring about people, and Sana simply returning the favor.

 

**[Annoying ShibeSana]:**

I’m home!

Thank you for another day of not killing me.

 

Sana messaged Dahyun the moment she got into their house, and for some reason, she can’t help but smile when her message goes to “sent”, then to “read”, then it’s three dots bouncing on Dahyun’s side.

 

“Mom! Dad! I’m home!” it was only then that Sana’s parents knew that their daughter is home.

  
  


**[Dahyun babygirl]:**

I am a generous god.

You should be really lucky, yknow?

 

Dahyun chuckled at her own reply and marched into the dining room in her home clothes and round glasses. Dahyun and her dad would discuss what happened to each other’s day as they shared a delicious home cooked dinner. When the conversation subsides a bit, Dahyun sneaks in a message to Sana then proceeds to invite her dad to watch Atteridge’s first game of the season with her.

 

**[Dahyun babygirl]:**

Hey, it’s okay if you wanna sleep early tonight.

You don’t have to wait for me.

 

“Of course, I’ll come with.” Dahyun’s dad laughed. “I wanna see your girlfriend play. She better bring her A-game.” Dahyun laughed at his father’s threat this time, not really knowing why she got nervous for Sana all of a sudden.

 

**[Annoying ShibeSana]:**

Nah. It’s fine. I’ll wait.

I’ll call after dinner and shower!

 

And so she did, just like how she always did for the past few weeks.

 

“Faster.” Sana whined and groaned over the phone. Meanwhile, Dahyun was still busy finishing up on her nightly skin care routine that is, unfortunately for Sana, composed of more steps than baking bread.

 

“Why do you always call and then ask me to hurry up?” Dahyun’s voice was obviously louder but that’s just because she had to put Sana on loudspeaker. Skin care is tedious business, and it usually required both of Dahyun’s hands.

 

“Because I’m sleepy.” Sana tried so hard to sound cute, hoping that it makes her a bit more convincing. And even if Dahyun can’t see Sana right now, she knows that Sana is pouting.

 

“Then go sleep!” Dahyun just teased back, finally getting on her finishing touches.

 

“If I do, you’d be sneaking in those frickin’ school work due next week. Then you’ll sleep at 1AM. Again.” Sana rolled on her back with a groan. What she said was true, though, and Dahyun didn’t need to be attacked right now. “I am stopping you from being, well, you. You should really be thanking me for those eight hours of sleep. I deserve that!”

 

“Shut up!” Dahyun could only muster, making Sana laugh harder. “I’m just freeing myself up so I can watch your first game!”

 

“Bullshit! Don’t turn this on me, miss!” Sana screamed.

 

“What?!” Dahyun dabbed her towel on her face. “It’s true!” but they both know it wasn’t. It’s just Dahyun drowning herself with work for some reason and actually, she really needs to thank Sana for making sure she doesn’t miss bedtime.

 

“So..” Sana breathed out as her laughter subsided. “When are you gonna kiss me at school?” It’s a random haymaker question, and expect Sana to be the bringer of these disarming questions.

 

“That’s our super secret weapon meant for a super duper emergency.” Dahyun shrugged then jumped into bed. “So maybe never.”

 

“Maybe I should create a super duper emergency. What do you think?” Sana suggested, to which Dahyun only playfully pondered.

 

“I think you should go and sleep.” and it was another day of turning down Sana’s crazy advances (if she could call it that). More for her sanity than anything else, if she’s honest. “And I’m on bed now! Yay!”

 

“Finally!” Sana groaned for the nth time then crawled up to a better position. “I’ll pick you up at the same time tomorrow?”

 

“Can we do an earlier time? Council meeting. I’ll just treat you drive-through breakfast and an A for effort!” Dahyun spoke as if it was a really good deal.

 

“Drive-through breakfast, an A minus for effort, but with a kiss.” Sana listed.

 

“No.” Dahyun rebuffed yet again.

 

“You were supposed to be a generous god!”

 

“And I have been! Do you wanna die tomorrow?” Dahyun pulled her blanket up her chest.

 

“Fine.”

 

“Also, I think I forgot my cardigan in your car.” Dahyun plugged in her charger before turning her lamp off. “Can you check it tomorrow?”

 

“Alrighty! What else have you  _ not _ left in my car? I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sana chuckled, but before Dahyun could even respond, Sana caught up on her words. “No school work! You’re gonna wake up late then we’ll both be late.”

 

“I know already, okay! Can you stop?” Dahyun scoffed playfully. “Good night, you annoying little poop.”

 

“Annoying little poop that  _ you _ like!” Sana accused, but also finally conceding. “Good night, Dahyun baby.”

 

They both hang up, plugging their phones into their respective docks with their alarms set a bit earlier than usual. In the moment where sleep was finally catching up on her, Sana turned to her side and looked at her phone. There’s Dahyun as her wallpaper, holding an ice cream cone, and wearing the bright grin that she always had.

 

Sana doesn’t hold back the small warm smile that formed on her lips.

 

Meanwhile, Dahyun found herself staring at the ceiling. There were a hundred different thoughts in her head but she chose to entertain just one before she slept. There’s this warm feeling in her chest, and she could only make herself believe that it’s ‘relief’. Relief that somehow, they made this mess into something — something she can’t put her finger on exactly. Friendship, perhaps? She can’t say.

 

But Dahyun smiled at the ceiling, too. Thankful for the darkness because it doesn’t show. Then, as soon as she pushed those thoughts away, she lets herself be taken by sleep.

 

Tomorrow, it’s all of these all over again. And Sana and Dahyun are absolutely fine with that.

  
  


///

  
  


Chaeyoung would’ve easily noticed that Dahyun was spending an awful amount of time with Sana if it wasn’t for a certain cheerleader who fondly fills in the times when Dahyun is with Sana, or Jeongyeon is with her band.

 

What started as Tzuyu driving her home that one time, turned into a more comfortable sense of coexistence. For the first time ever, there was no need for Tzuyu to brace herself emotionally when she steps in to Chemistry class. Chaeyoung, even, was the first to greet. It wasn’t a sprightly “hello” or anything similar, but Tzuyu can take that dimpled smile anyday. Especially now when they both get to laugh with the group as if bad blood never existed between them.

 

It never really did, as far as Tzuyu is concerned, but Chaeyoung can’t also deny that the feeling isn’t as heavy now compared to when she had all her walls up.

 

But moments like these only exist when Chaeyoung and Tzuyu are mixed up with the group. When it’s just the two of them, Chaeyoung’s waves are smaller. “Hi, Chewy!”’s turn into quieter “Hi”’s. Greetings turn into sparing smiles. And whenever she can, Chaeyoung avoids Tzuyu whenever she sees her coming down the hallways.

 

It’s not that Chaeyoung is a two-faced bitch. She never was. The Chaeyoung that Tzuyu sees with the group is the very same Chaeyoung that she drives home. But with the unkindness of high school and years of looking over her shoulder, Chaeyoung knew the value of being discreet.

 

She and Tzuyu are from different worlds in this high school jungle, and Chaeyoung had to keep herself away from everyone else’s vantage points especially when Tzuyu’s beauty has always demanded attention.

 

Chaeyoung has became too good at hiding in the shadows. One misstep and she’ll find herself at the mercy of whatever unkindness this school could hurl at her.

 

“My dudes, you go on ahead to the bleachers.” Chaeyoung said to Dahyun and Jeongyeon as they packed up. “I’m just gonna get something from my locker real quick.”

 

Her two friends obliged, with Jeongyeon asking Chae if she’s alright with doing it alone. Chaeyoung insisted, of course, but thanked Jeongyeon nonetheless. The hallways are empty anyway, reminding Chaeyoung why she loved staying at school late.

 

It’s the usual book run, but instead of books, Chaeyoung’s locker is filled with folders and photocopied pages of her books. Compared to other lockers, hers is almost bare. Stocked only with necessities of a couple extra pens, a small container of plastic rubber hair ties, and a simple name tag that says “Chaeyoung Son”. Nothing artsy. Nothing personal. Nothing permanent.

 

“Heya.” A girl leaned against the lockers and smiled.

 

“Whoa!” Chaeyoung jumped, almost throwing her photocopied pages in the air. Good thing she’s quick with her eyes. Arched eyes, deep dimples, a pair of spectacles, and that disarming smile. “Jeez! Chewy! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

 

Tzuyu laughed at Chaeyoung’s reaction. It wasn’t intended but it was cute, so Tzuyu takes it anyway. Chaeyoung just shook her head, giving Tzuyu a soft punch on the shoulder.

 

“You don’t keep books in there?” Tzuyu’s eyes wandered in and around the Chaeyoung’s locker. It looked more like an office stockroom drawer and Tzuyu can’t help thinking about what Chaeyoung said about not being artsy in school.

 

“No.” Chaeyoung unceremoniously answered.

 

“Why?”

 

“Too heavy.” Chaeyoung glanced at the cheerleader and winked. It’s a smart move, Tzuyu thought, but also defeats the purpose of lockers.

 

“Is that why you always have printed readings in chem?” Tzuyu said, and it was enough to convince Chaeyoung that Tzuyu has been taking in a lot of details. Maybe too much.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I see.” Tzuyu finally conceded quite easily. These kinds of questions, afterall, are easy to drop when you’re excited for something else. “Well, anyways. I haven’t seen you a lot this week so I never got the chance to give you these.” She puts out her hand and shows Chaeyoung what she was holding.

 

“What..” Chaeyoung’s voice softened into a mumble of disbelief as she realized that Tzuyu was holding a bundle of Copic markers tied with a cute bow. “You didn’t have to.”

 

The price of these things are a bit too much, and even if Tzuyu has the means to buy them on a whim, it still doesn’t justify the sudden gift.

 

“You didn’t have to help me with my car trouble, but you did. Besides, I haven’t really thanked you enough.” Tzuyu smiled as she caught a glimpse of Chaeyoung’s dimpled smile.

 

“It’s all good. I just helped a bit. That’s all.” Chaeyoung further reasoned, hoping to convince the cheerleader that everything’s square between them.

 

“I can treat you to something, if you want to.” Tzuyu said.

 

“It’s fine, really.” Chaeyoung pushes back again.

 

“Chae.” Tzuyu coaxed further as if Chaeyoung was forgetting something. When she was only greeted back by Chaeyoung’s confused look, she chuckled. “This is the part where you ask me out.”

 

“What..” it took a couple of moments before Tzuyu’s words sank in. “Oh.” Chaeyoung’s thoughts ran Tzuyu’s words on repeat until it made any semblance of sense to her. “Oh! Yeah. Uh, well. As you may have probably noticed, I’m not the kind of person who would know when it’s time to ask someone out. Not really in my set of skills.”

 

“But I can ask you out, right?” Tzuyu pointed at Chaeyoung with gun fingers. A wink, a dashing smile, and it became really hard for the smaller girl to refuse.

 

“I have a feeling that you wouldn’t stop until I say yes.” Chaeyoung winced.

 

“Glad that’s pretty clear.” Tzuyu’s dimples sunk around her bright smile. “I’ll set a time and place, then. Maybe after the first game or whenever you’re free.”

 

“Okay.” Because it’s the only word she could muster to mask the fact that for the first time in a long while, Chaeyoung would be diving head first.

 

“Okay.” Tzuyu smiled. Because it’s the only way she could respond to the sudden triumph.. “Anyways, off the pitch. You’re not going today?”

 

“Ah, yeah.” Then Chaeyoung’s thoughts came back to why she was here in the first place. “I am. Dahyun waiting up for Sana and all.” She stuffed her notes inside her bag as Tzuyu began to walk backwards.

 

“Cheer for me, okay?” Tzuyu finally said. “See you later!”

 

Chaeyoung just watched the cheerleader walk away from her. It wasn’t brisk or urgent. Like she never wanted that conversation to end that quickly.

 

Chaeyoung is scarce with words. Scarce with appearances when gossip’s eyes surround her. But with the two of them seemingly living this moment of empty hallways and fleeting afternoons, Chaeyoung chips a bit of her walls down.

 

“Hey, Chewy.” Chaeyoung called out softly, enough to make Tzuyu turn her heels just a bit too eagerly.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thanks again.”

 

“No.” Tzuyu smiled softly this time. “Thank you.”

 

“I’ll cheer for you. Now, hurry up to the pitch before you get in trouble.” Chaeyoung nodded towards the end of the hallway and shook her head.

 

Tzuyu chuckled, her eyes smiling as she did. It was warm, almost making Chaeyoung think that it was an artwork in itself. Then, before she could bask in it, Tzuyu was already walking faster away from her, with Chaeyoung not really seeing the beaming smile that she gave the cheerleader.

  
  


///

  
  


Morehouse vs. Atteridge

 

It was a fanfare of drums and brass as the Atteridge Charging Crusaders prepared to play against the Morehouse Pouncing Panthers.

 

Chaeyoung was seated with Jieun and Jeongyeon. They have Ryujin with them as well but she was too busy watching the crimson haired drummer girl in a Napoleonic era uniform and a pleated skirt.

 

The rest of the council was there too. Hyewon, who’s probably wolfing down on her third corndog. Minjoo, who’s really expectant about the first match, and the AV Club girls. But despite the excited atmosphere in the bleachers, it was only the president who shared the tense mood of the football team.

 

“Chill out, Minatozaki.” Chaeyoung nudged Dahyun’s shoulder, and she only responded to Sana’s family name simply because she was wearing Sana’s letterman’s today. A show of support as the quarterback’s girlfriend.

 

“Let’s get this bread, ladies!” Sana claps once as they all huddled in. “T-Bone 71. Left Punch Dig! On the center, on the center! Time to introduce ourselves. On one, on one!” Sana barked out then they placed their hands, one over the other, on the center of the huddle before screaming. “Crusader!”

 

To which everyone roars, “Charge!”

 

“Green! 64!” Sana calls out to her scrum line, looking at how the players move and run to new positions. Momo turns and dashes to the other end of their scrimmage. “Green! 64! Hut!”

 

Ball gets snapped, and Sana takes a couple of steps back. The scrum collapses against each other, and in the ruckus that followed, Sana bolted along the side of the field. The crowd roared with every quick stride she took. Five yards became ten, and ten yards became twenty five. When it would seem like she’s going to make it to the end line, the defenders intercepted her position.

 

Clockwork. Just like how Sana predicted it. She turns to Momo, who was running with her from the other side of the field, now defenseless. Three defenders pushed Sana off the field but the quarterback was quicker. The ball zipped mid field, landing cleanly on Momo’s hands. The crowd goes into a frenzy when Momo dives in for the touchdown.

 

Chaeyoung watched as Dahyun’s stern gaze was undeterred, even if the completed pass made the crowd go wild. It was only when Sana stood up that Dahyun finally closed her eyes and exhaled. Dahyun can’t even remember being this nervous, scared, and excited in the previous games. Because in those games, this thing with Sana hasn’t existed yet.

 

The whistle blows for Atteridge’s first score, and the first thing that Sana sees is Dahyun’s beaming smile. It was warm, and it was proud, and Sana can’t help but smile back all the way from the field.

 

The energy didn’t die. The crowd was never left to rest as one offensive play unfolds after the other. Jihyo snaps the ball. Sana looks for an opening. Then a team mate completes the deep pass. On other times, Sana craftily dodges the defenders, and sprints a good gain before betting stopped by two more players. Dahyun could only close her eyes whenever Sana gets tackled and she can’t say if she could watch any more of that.

 

By late game, Sana was beat up pretty good, and Dahyun learns in the most inconvenient way that a person could still look damn hot with mud, dirt, and tousled hair. This is the human version of what she watched in Animal Planet last week: a lioness boasting her scars after a well fought hunt.

 

Sana is attractive. Period. Dahyun never had the chance to come to terms with that until she found herself on the receiving end of Sana’s smirks and winks. She could only reply with tightly balled fists and bitten lips, hoping that it could somehow contain the words that she can’t allow Sana to use against her. Sana is getting the admiration from almost everyone at school, and Dahyun refused to be a part of the chorus.

 

Dahyun was only released from this torment when the whistle blew to close the game. 24 - 8. Atteridge draws first blood, and Dahyun strangely felt excited about it. Proud, even. And it’s not about the team.

 

~

 

The parade of players was heralded by a single shout of “We charge!” and the crowd’s mighty roar of “Crusaders!” until the school parking lot was thundering with the exchange of, “We charge! Crusaders! We charge! Crusaders!”

 

The cheer only intensified when Sana comes into the parking lot area with her arm wrapped tightly around Dahyun’s waist. She high fives and greets the other “cool kids”, while Dahyun cheered with the normies who are just as ecstatic but rarely express the feeling because they’re too “uncool” for it. But Dahyun made sure that everyone is included. That everyone can be part of their first victory.

 

From where Jeongyeon was standing, she took note on how this scene painted a rather regal picture. The conquering hero and the people’s mandated queen, surrounded by the people who look up to them as they basked in the thundering school spirit. Chaeyoung was looking at the same thing and at this point Jeongyeon knew what Chaeyoung was thinking: that they both wished this is a real thing. Especially when Dahyun was practically nibbling on Sana’s ear, whispering things that made Sana laugh.

 

But they’re having those thoughts only because they’re not hearing what the two are talking about.

 

“I know what you’re thinking, Sana. Don’t.” Dahyun’s beaming smile against Sana’s ear did not match her warning.

 

“Everyone’s watching! It’s the perfect time!” Sana smiled back but her words are being spat out through gritted teeth.

 

“I am not kissing you here!” Dahyun hissed with a smile then turned to one of the people she knew. Sana watched the person come and go, then leaned in closer when Dahyun was finally unoccupied.

 

“The agreement, Dahyun! It’s the perfect moment!” Sana reasoned, glancing at the crowd that surrounded them. She hasn’t seen the cheerleader clique yet but she’s damn sure they’re around here somewhere watching.

 

“Only for super special emergencies!” Dahyun was practically whisper shouting at this point but she made sure to put on a smile to show people that they were not, in fact, arguing.

 

“I have rights!”

 

“Please. Just don’t put me in a spot right now. Please.” Dahyun pleaded, obviously uncomfortable at the thought of it.

 

Being with Dahyun almost everyday made Sana much more receptive of Dahyun’s moods. The president is good at putting on faces as it is a skill required from a public servant. But when her tone is a bit panicky than usual and she shrinks on the spot, Sana knew she had to listen.

 

“Fine.” Sana conceded, her lips grazing the skin right by Dahyun’s ear. It made the president subtly shudder in anticipation, but pushed the feelings back nonetheless. “We’ll talk about this.”

 

Dahyun turned to Sana and placed her hand over the quarterback’s heart. Sana is the taller one but Dahyun didn’t mind leaning up so the tip of her nose was touching the skin beside Sana’s ear.

 

“You  _ are  _ the best girlfriend.” Dahyun chuckled, then patted her hand on Sana’s chest. “You will be handsomely rewarded.”

 

Sana tried so hard not to roll her eyes because ‘dating’ Dahyun taught her that these ‘handsome rewards’ would only include free ice cream or maybe her homework being done for her. But then again, it’s either these or risking Dahyun blowing this whole charade up.

 

And so they pass on the first great opportunity for a great show. It would’ve been a good time to maim the beast (aka. Sana’s ex), but Sana still thinks that there would be more chances for this. Besides, it’s just the first game. Too early for big celebrations.

 

“That was one hell of a game, kid.” Mr. Kim reaches for Sana’s hand and shakes it firmly. “Looks like we’re in good shape to finally take that championship.”

 

“Anything is possible as long as Dahyun is beside me, Mr. K.” Sana pulled Dahyun closer into a side hug, with Dahyun just rolling her eyes and nudging her elbow against Sana’s rib. Obviously, she’s just saying that to score points with Dahyun’s dad. “Which reminds me, Mr. K. My parents wanted to meet you and Dahyun. I was wondering when you are free for dinner?”

 

“That’s really nice of them. Thank you.” He said warmly. “ I’ll let you know through Dahyun. Would that be fine?”

 

“Absolutely! I’ll tell my parents. They’d be more than glad to have you.” Sana and Dahyun’s dad exchanged their last smiles before he got into the car. The rumbling engine said it’s time for good nights.

 

“So.” Sana squeezed Dahyun’s forearms, making the president shrink in familiar comfort. “There are things that we legits need to talk about.” Sana narrowed her eyes an Dahyun just winced.

 

“Yeah.” Dahyun sighed then nodded, “We do.”

 

Dahyun can’t help but feel a bit guilty. She knew that at some point it would come to actually kissing Sana but she also felt that it’s like jumping too fast and too recklessly. It’s still pretend, and real things shouldn’t be involved as quickly.

 

But in a way, she appreciated Sana even more when she felt like her thoughts and reservations actually mattered to Sana. That their relationship is a compromise of sorts. Not like a single person is calling all the shots and the other was just meant to follow.

 

As Dahyun was preoccupied by these thoughts, it was a bit too late when she felt herself being pulled closer. Sana’s arms around her waist has become a familiar feeling now. And to whether or not she’s grown to love being touched like that sometimes, Dahyun would never admit. The only response she could give is to hang her wrists around Sana’s neck.

 

That should put a good show for the parking lot people.

 

“Thanks.” Sana whispered as she gently knocked their foreheads together.

 

“For what?” Dahyun chuckled.

 

“For coming out tonight and cheering for us.” Sana managed a small smile, feeling a bit shy all of a sudden. “It means a lot. For me. And the team, I mean.”

 

“Hey, of course!” Dahyun insisted like what she did isn’t special. “I’ll always be supporting you and the team. You are our Charging Crusaders. Besides, it’s not like you have a shortage of fangirls.” With their arms still around each other, Dahyun pulled her head back to have a good look at Sana’s face when Dahyun heard her laugh.

 

“You’re the girlfriend, remember? It matters the most when it comes from you.” Sana smirked.

 

“Shut up.” Dahyun rolled her eyes. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Sana, I’ll see you Monday.” then she began to pull away from Sana’s hug. She punches Sana’s shoulder playfully, with the quarterback overreacting on the pain. Sana thinks that Dahyun’s adorable when she’s all tough.

 

The crowd finally begins to die down as it melted away piece by piece, leaving car after car after car. Chaeyoung finally approached the couple, greeting Sana with a smile bigger than usual. Maybe it’s a prize after getting the first win. Sana will take that. She’ll take anything that can get her into the good graces of Dahyun’s best friend.

 

“You look good in my jacket.” Sana walks back a couple of steps, not wanting to face away.

 

“Maybe I should keep it.” Dahyun giggled, forcing Chaeyoung to hide her laughter.

 

“Yeah.” Sana chuckled. “Maybe you should.”

 

A fair point, Sana thought, especially that she’s seen Dahyun in her jacket before. It wasn’t really the most ideal of circumstances but it’s the same circumstance that led her to this moment. Sana, watching Dahyun tug at the shoulders of Sana’s jacket, bragging about how it fits her so well.

 

“I luf you.” Sana finally said, coming out strangely like a sigh. Like it was meant for her thoughts alone.

 

“I luf you, too.” Dahyun said back. A way to atone for not allowing the kiss. She watched Sana disappear into the thinning crowd. Her folks are driving her home tonight, and a small part of Dahyun wishes that she could drive Sana instead.

 

“Ready to go, kiddos?” her dad rolled his window down and smiled.

 

Chaeyoung and Dahyun got into the car. It didn’t even take a second before Dahyun fishes her phone out from her pocket and opened a chatbox named “Annoying Shibe Sana”. Chaeyoung saw this from the backseat but dismissed it just the same. Dahyun isn’t hurt as far as this charade is concerned. Maybe it’s as harmless as she thought.

  
  


///

  
  


“You’ve never kissed anyone, have you?” Sana finally broke the silence.

 

Dahyun raised her brow, with her temple perched on her folded knuckles as she tuned to Sana’s “loud thoughts”. Dahyun was expecting the talk now that Atteridge had their first (and second) win. And until now, Dahyun was kinda surprised on how she managed to dodge the conversation altogether.

 

It was one of those late afternoons where Sana was content on lying down on Dahyun’s couch. Meanwhile, Dahyun was lying on her side with her elbows nestled on the big throw pillow that filled the small space between them. They have been watching Black Mirror for a good hour or so now but Dahyun knew she will have to explain what happened in the last few scenes.

 

“I mean,” Sana followed up when a beat of silence passed. Dahyun’s brow was still cocked. “That’s the only reason I could think for you not wanting to kiss me.”

 

What Sana said is true. Dahyun has grew up romanticizing the whole concept of love and being in love. As the president of the council, she has always been the idealist. The poetic hopeless romantic who’s quite annoyed at the fact that she’s stuck in a pretend relationship. But then again, this is the closest thing that she could get for a dating story.

 

“Maybe I just don’t like to kiss you.” Dahyun chuckled smugly, not really wanting to admit it.

 

“I am very kissable and make-out worthy, Dahyun.” Sana scoffed playfully, shaking her head. And Dahyun would be flat out lying if she denied that. “Don’t fool yourself.”

 

“Or I just don’t want giving away kisses to people.” Dahyun shrugged.

 

“I’m your girlfriend on paper. And really? I am literally lying on your couch, watching Netflix on your TV, not to mention that I drive you to school everyday and still, I’m just ‘some people’ to you?” Sana enumerated, which made a rather compelling argument, all points considered.

 

“That’s not what I meant, Sana.”

 

“I just don’t like people getting suspicious.” Sana rolled on her side. The weight shifted which cued Dahyun to adjust her posture a bit. Talking to Sana up close has been a very familiar feeling by now, and with both of them practically lying their heads on the same big throw pillow, Dahyun doesn’t feel the need to pull away.

 

“Don’t you see how Nancy gets so worked up when I’m all over you?” Sana smirked.  _ Right _ . This is just a thing to make Sana’s ex jealous, and a way for Dahyun to get away with sleeping with the quarterback. “I help you, you help me.”

 

_ Help me, help you. _ The thought echoed inside Dahyun’s head over and over for a moment. It is true that they ventured into this idea because of the mutual benefit, but Dahyun can’t help but that Sana’s asking for too much given what Dahyun had to go through just by Sana’s antics alone. However, it’s not all bad. There’s someone she could talk to that’s not Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung. Someone who kisses her even if it’s because they had to put a show. Someone who also takes care of her in ways that she couldn’t have imagined. And maybe, when the time comes, what Dahyun would ask from Sana will outweigh all the shenanigans that the quarterback has pulled off.

 

“Cheek. In front of all the people.” Dahyun finally relented with a sigh. But Sana’s smile faded as quickly when Dahyun continued. “After you win five games. Deal?”

 

“Why don’t you add every homework for the year while you’re at it? You drive a hard bargain, Miss President. I shouldn’t have voted for you.” Sana frowned and just jammed her hand into the bowl of chips. “Remember that I’m only doing this because I don’t want to steal your first kiss.”

 

Dahyun just laid there. Unflinching. But there was a big beaming smile nonetheless. Sana doesn’t know why, but she felt compelled to respect Dahyun’s position on top of the mutual permission. Is she taking this kiss as seriously as Dahyun? Is she as curious on how it would feel like? Will Dahyun like it too if it came to that?

 

“But in all honesty? It won’t really matter who gets to your lips first.” Sana rolled onto her back once again, but tilted her head towards Dahyun. “What you should be focused on is who will stay and will keep on kissing you ‘til the morning comes.”

 

Strands of locks from the side of Sana’s head fell over the quarterback’s eyes.

 

“You are weirdly and romantically profound, you know that?” Dahyun chuckled and tucked Sana’s raven locks behind her ears. Sana just smiled at this and shook her head slightly.

 

There is gentleness in Dahyun’s touch so she just lets Dahyun do it, despite the growing number of things that she allows Dahyun to do to her.

 

“So,” Sana cleared her throat, “What’s this episode about again? Ow!”

 

And there’s also harshness. But in Dahyun’s defense, Sana deserved it.

  
  


///

  
  


Five wins. The thing about the “five wins for a kiss” deal is that Dahyun should’ve aimed higher.

 

Halifax vs. Atteridge

 

Sana was quick on her feet. With one arm wrapped around the ball and the other arm fending off defenders, she was sprinting opposite Momo and Seulgi. A defender dives for the tackle but Sana and Momo had always been quicker. They vault over the rolling body at the same time and continued gaining yards.

 

“Two up!” Sana called out. On cue, Seulgi ran left, and Momo ran right. With only two defenders remaining, the opposing team knew exactly what was going to happen.

 

With one defender on Sana and another on Momo, the ball flies and Seulgi connects to the pass with a diving touchdown. The team celebrates the last play, with Sana looking Dahyun in the crowd. She isn’t hard to find though. Sana just had to look for the blond girl who’s playfully annoyed at the irony that winning isn’t always a good thing.

 

Sana smirked when she meets Dahyun’s eyes with hers, and even if she up in the bleachers, Sana taunted her girlfriend by tapping her finger on her cheek.

 

An approximate spot that Dahyun would have to kiss.

 

Andrews vs. Atteridge

 

The section cheers were loud on Dahyun’s side. The crowd roared “Charge!” whenever someone leads with “Crusader?!”

 

Meanwhile, Sana seemed to be listening intently to Coach Lee. Atteridge is currently leading, and with some spare time remaining, they would have to clear 50 yards with the risk of turning over a possession.

 

“We need that lead for our last play, Sana. What do you think?” Coach Lee had her arms crossed under her chest, eyes casted out to the pitch.

 

“Field goal is always a good idea.” Sana glanced at a specific teammate who was drumming her helmet like bongos. Coach Lee perked her brows in agreement. Less risky, and very unexpected. It might just do the trick.

 

“No pressure, Lis. But that’s fifty yards and we need the win.” Sana went down on one knee and offered her propped leg for Lisa to put her feet on.

 

“If the bars are any closer, where’s the fun in that, Cap?” Lisa winked and watched as Sana ceremoniously polished Lisa’s cleats with her wrist. “It’s in the pull back of your foot. You see?” Sana just watched the kicker swing her leg before snapping her ankle backwards. “The power of the kick is in The Pullback.”

 

“Hut!” Sana called for the ball. The defenders collapse into their scrimmage, doing their best to get to where Lisa is. Sana caught the ball and angled it over the grass.

 

There was a booming thud when Lisa’s cleat came into contact with the football. The ball flies over the field and the players could only pray that it goes over the bars.

 

The science of The Pullback is bullshit but it can make any player believe because it always ends the same: When Lisa kicks, it always ends up in a football version of a home run.

 

Lisa doesn’t know it yet, but Sana owes her one. Big time.

 

Fairfield vs. Atteridge

  
  


“Blue 42! Blue 42!” Sana lets out a howling roar over her scrimmage. “Hut!”

 

Watching Sana play has always been a magnificent sight, and Dahyun hated that she felt torn about it. The quarterback was very quick on her feet, dodging and leaving her defenders behind with last minute crossovers and sudden bursts of speed. Sana and her offensive team has been playing consistently well, and it’s giving Dahyun a glimpse of her imminent future.

 

Every completed pass makes her heart jump out off her chest and it’s not because the game is thrilling to watch. It’s all about what comes after.

 

Sana ran past her defender and broke off from the scrum. Dahyun mumbled a silent prayer when she tucked her clasped hands under chin. It would be easy to guess that she’s hoping for a win but at this point, Dahyun was also wishing that Sana would forget what they’ve talked about.

 

But of course, that will never happen. Sana is annoying for that specific reason.

 

A defender finally caught Sana and pushed her down the grass. But the ball was already mid way into the pass when her back hits the field. She watched as the ball flew into the arms of Seulgi who was also in the middle of diving into the end zone.

 

The whistle blared and Dahyun knew that she had just developed a new trauma. And while the whole team celebrated on the pitch, Sana put on her black baseball cap, looked for Dahyun’s beautiful brown eyes in the crowd, then tapped her finger on a certain part of her cheek. Specifically, the part of her cheek that was close to her lips.

 

Of course, she’d choose that. She, afterall, is Sana — Dahyun’s annoying girlfriend.

 

“Respect the agreement..” the president mumbled to herself as every step she made brought her closer to Sana. “A deal is a deal.” she marched on. But before she could reach the quarterback, she glanced at the cheerleaders’ direction and saw the cheer captain looking at Sana’s general direction. There wasn’t anything remarkable happening and Dahyun was left wondering on what Nancy was staring at.

 

There’s always a way to find out. Most especially when Dahyun felt a little bit competitive for some reason. Like a strange urge to mark territories.

 

“Congratulations, baby!” Dahyun’s strides quickly turned into giddy hops towards the quarterback and Sana was disarmed a bit. Dahyun should be annoyed. Or reluctant. Or bitter that she lost the bet. But her big, proud smile and the naturalness in Dahyun’s actions made Sana forget every bit of snark that she reserved for this moment of triumph.

 

It was strange when there was no hesitation as Dahyun casually wrapped her hand around the back of her neck. Dahyun should have shied away by now. Cowered or shrunk with the contact. But somehow, the president has managed to put their lips treacherously close together.

 

“You did so well! Oh my god!” Dahyun whispered, sincerely proud. Then, before Sana could even say something smart, or funny, or annoying, Dahyun leaned in and kissed the corner of Sana’s lips.

 

Dahyun’s lips were soft against her skin. There was a lingering warmth that crept out into her cheek and Sana was wondering why she’s knowing this just now. She has always been curious on how they felt like but for some reason, she can’t remember. Then it hit her — this is the first time that Dahyun has ever kissed her. It has always been hugs or touching her cheek, but it has never been a kiss. Until now.

 

And Sana can’t quite figure out why her heart is beating so damn fast.

 

There was a tune running playing loops in Sana’s head, and it says,  _ Is this how it actually feels like to be Dahyun’s girlfriend? _

  
  


///

  
  


“Attention, plebes!” Jeongyeon laughed in greeting as she held the door open. “Captain Inspiration on the bridge!”

 

Just like always, Dahyun marched from under Jeongyeon’s arm, laptop clutched close to her chest. The reactions in the room was hard to miss, though. They all looked at Dahyun as if she did something worthy of her new nickname. Hidden giggles, suspicious smiles, and casual snickers.

 

“So, how does it feel?” Chaeyoung turned her swivel chair to Dahyun.

 

“Feel what?” Dahyun sighed, like this question was already asked before.

 

“How does it feel to be someone’s inspiration?” Chaeyoung wiggled her eyebrows then everyone in the room howled and laughed.

 

“Come on, you guys!” Dahyun just dropped herself onto her chair and covered her face with her hands.

 

Last night, Sana posted Dahyun’s picture in her Instagram and captioned it with: ‘The reason why we are so inspired for the season.’ And Dahyun hated the fact that Sana uploaded the post under her nose. They were catching up on The Patriot Act, with Sana was lying down on the couch while Dahyun was sitting close beside her. Dahyun’s phone chimed with a notification but at that point, it was too late to have Sana take it back.

 

While the others are raving about the dynamics of this new and unexpected “power couple”, Dahyun knew exactly what Sana was doing. For all she knows, Sana wasn’t really inspired. She’s just pinning the games on Dahyun so she won’t break up with her until after the finals.

 

“You’re gross. You know that?” Nayeon frowned as soon as she approached where Sana and her group was sitting. “Inspiration my ass.”

 

“I’m not really sure about that.” Sana winced, “Your ass isn’t really that inspiring.”

 

Then, before she could even laugh at her own roast, Sana felt a roll of paper smack a clean hit on the side of her head. It was Nayeon’s readings for Spanish, judging by the thickness of the roll of papers.

 

“Ow! Can someone get this girl someone who can be inspired by her ass!” Sana rubbed the spot that was hit.

 

“Stop ruining my morning or I might just dedicate the rest of my life in ruining yours.” Nayeon took a seat beside Sana’s group, with Tzuyu sitting beside her and Mina sitting on the space that Momo provided. “Anyways, what is this bonfire that everyone’s talking about?”

 

“What bonfire?” Sana asked, not really interested.

 

“Bonfire party. The basketball kids wanted to celebrate Atteridge’s win streak. Or maybe they’re just looking for a reason to get drunk.” Momo shrugged. “A party is still a party, though. And it is being thrown in our honor. So I guess we’re game.”

 

“No, we are not game.” Sana quickly remanded. “We have practice, remember?”

 

“I think Dahyun is going with the council, though.” Mina perched her chin on Momo’s shoulder. Sana turned to her, only for Mina to nod towards Tzuyu’s direction.

 

Tzuyu raised her phone to Sana’s face and showed a message from Chaeyoung. Apparently, it confirmed the claim that the council is going. Sana shouldn’t be bothered by this but she thought that this is something Dahyun could’ve told her. Until she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

 

**[Dahyun babygirl]:**

Never told me you’re planning a party.

We are going, right?

Because I kind of already said yes.

 

_ We _ .

 

Sana found herself smiling for some reason as she read the president’s message. It was only Mina who noticed but decided not to prod the quarterback about it.

 

Maybe Sana didn’t really have a reason to be upset. Technically, she doesn’t really have to be. They’re just friends. Friends who somehow got their schedules wrong because of an event that they’re learning just now.

 

“Just as long as we can handle practices, then we’ll go.” Sana sighed in surrender, eliciting a rowdy celebration from the others. “Jihyo, talk to Eunbi. I don’t want the juniors messing around during the season. Especially Yujin.”

 

Jihyo just gave her a thumbs up before tucking her hands inside her jacket pockets.

 

**[Annoying Shibe Sana]:**

It’s not us, babygirl.

Basketball boys. Maybe just looking for a reason to drink.

But yes. We’ll go. :)

 

“Okay.” Dahyun sighed while everyone looked at her in curious anticipation. “Just make sure that you finish all of your assigned tasks before the bonfire.” The entire room exploded in cheers like Dahyun’s council was deprived of parties. Which is partly true since, for the most of them, council meetings are their only semblance of social events.

 

Compared to Jennie’s year starter, the council kids have new reasons to be excited. It’s Dahyun and Sana’s first party as a “couple”. Chaeyoung, meanwhile, tried hard to not smile when the possibility of hanging out with Tzuyu graced her thoughts. Especially when she was starting to get used to talking to the cheerleader everyday. The shy hellos are still there when their friends are around but they seem to hold pretty well when left alone together. Maybe they’ll have that kind of chance at the party.

 

Meanwhile, Jeongyeon just holds her phone up to her face and spins on her swivel chair. A party is a party and she won’t back down from a good time. And maybe annoy Nayeon while she’s at it.

  
  


///

  
  


Sana and Dahyun drove up to a beachhead not far from the outskirts of the city. It’s a spot that every Atteridge student knows because student-led bonfire parties are held there since 1978. An abandoned satellite array a stone’s throw from the beach juts out from the rather flat landscape, silently fulfilling its role as an easily recognizable landmark. The three giant satellite dishes and the abandoned quonset huts seen a lot of Atteridge kids make out inside its rusting walls. But even if the property has earned its fair share of urban legends, some students just treat it as a place to satisfy their urges. The important thing is, it’s safe. Devoid of crackheads or cartels who almost always end their businesses in shootouts.

 

The city knows the place as the Epsom Beach Satellite Array. The younger kids know it as the place where they allegedly made contact with aliens back in 1982. But the students and alumni of Atteridge Highschool fondly call it as ‘The Sat’ — a two mile beach head that’s filled with cars only during specific times of the year — more specifically, the Atteridge Bonfire.

 

The briny air grazes against Dahyun’s thighs. Her denim short jumper not really doing well against the autumn winds. She instinctively cowers closer to Sana, quite comfortable with her now familiar presence.

 

“You okay?” Sana asked. She didn’t wait for Dahyun to answer, though. And Dahyun just felt a thick, warm fabric being draped around her shoulders. It awfully smells like Sana, Dahyun thought, then she pulled the jacket closer around her.

 

“Thank you.” Dahyun giggled quietly when the sea breeze came again. The horizon is splashed with deep orange, blending through the purple glazed sky. With the sun having dipped behind the horizon a few minutes ago, Dahyun was pleased that she could still see Sana’s small smile through the twilight haze. “Remind me next time not to take jackets from you. I’m getting a feeling that this is your main MO in getting the girls.” Dahyun laughed.

 

“No, only to you.” Sana giggled out quicker than she could think. It made her hold her breath for a quick second because holy shit, where did that banter came from? Dahyun just slapped her arm in reply, which came off more as a relief at this point.

 

“You and the shit you say.” Dahyun said as she hugged Sana’s arm. Sana tucked her hands into her pockets as the sand shuffled and crunched under their flip flops. Dahyun insisted, saying they could always change into their shoes in the car when they’re done.

 

“I mean, you are my girlfriend now so I must’ve tapped into your secret jacket fantasies or something.” Sana whispered then they both turned to greet Jennie and Lisa who were walking towards where they came from.

 

“Shut up!” With one arm still wrapped around Sana’s arm, Dahyun replied to where Sana left off, giving her a light punch.

 

They go back and forth with the banter just like how they used to, only to break out from their bubble when they finally reached the growing crowd. The fire in the large cauldron was already getting pretty big. JB’s truck was parked near so that the speakers in his flatbed could blast out some music. Wired to the entire system was a laptop where the songs are being played and a projector that was aimed at a white blanket that someone put up in a frame of sorts. People mentioned about some movie to played later or whatever, but Dahyun just thought it was pretty cool.

 

“Yo, guys! The captain’s here! Crusader!” Momo yelled out as she raised a can of beer. To which the crowd cheered “Charge!” before subsiding into howls and applause.

 

Dahyun felt being held closer against Sana, and the quarterback just raised her fist, then took the red cup that was offered to her. She tilted it towards Dahyun’ nose and the president just kind of crumpled her nose. Sana thought it was cute just like always.

 

Soon enough, Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung and the rest of the council congregated around Dahyun while Sana’s football friends joined in. Chaeyoung, of course, just cowered behind Jeongyeon and Dahyun, hoping that she could just blend in. She noticed that Jeongyeon was craning her neck as if to look for somebody, then her attention would go back to the crowd whenever someone jokes about something.

 

“Who you looking for?” Chaeyoung asked, much more interested in the act of talking rather than whatever Jeongyeon has to say.

 

Eyes still searching through the crowd, Jeongyeon opened her mouth to speak, only to stop midway before shutting her mouth altogether. She shook her head a bit then leaned closer to Chaeyoung.

 

“You want me to get you and Dahyun some drinks?” Jeongyeon voice was a bit louder, trying to compete with the sound system. But before Chaeyoung could even speak, Jeongyeon tapped Dahyun’s shoulder with the back of her hand and leaned closer to her too. “I’m getting drinks for me and Chae. What do you want?”

 

Dahyun frowned for a quick second. She’s not really in the mood to get drunk so she poked Sana’s shoulder to get the quarterback’s attention. Sana was quick to disengage from Momo and Jihyo for a short moment so she could take in what Dahyun was asking. There was a short tussle, then some jokes, then Dahyun returned to Jeongyeon.

 

“I’m good with anything except whatever Sana’s drinking. Beer?” Dahyun’s answer came off more as a question. “Do they have that here?”

 

“Yeah,” Jeongyeon nodded enthusiastically and gave her a thumbs up. “I don’t know where Jieun got the shit but she brought a lot. Hold on, I’ll get you guys some.”

 

“Wait.” Chaeyoung tugged on the sleeve of Jeongyeon’s jacket. “I’ll come with.”

 

Chaeyoung can get a bit overwhelmed because unlike Jennie’s year starter party, the open set up on the beach isn’t really giving her places to hide. Jeongyeon noticed this so she brings Chaeyoung along to Jieun’s vintage Volkswagen Combi.

 

Chaeyoung just kinda stood there behind Jeongyeon, her hands tucked into her jacket pockets.

 

“Hey, where’s your Chewy anyway?” Jeongyeon asked, but was much more focused on rummaging beer from a large cooler.

 

“What the hell?!” Chaeyoung kicked up some sand onto Jeongyeon’s roughed up Doc Martens. She turns to Chaeyoung and threw her hands up in the air. Chaeyoung just stared at the older girl’s quiet complaint.

 

“There’s no ‘your’. She’s not ‘mine’. We’re just..” Chaeyoung’s voice trailed off as she struggled to find the next words. Unfortunately for her, Jeongyeon catches on, and it irritated Chaeyoung the moment she saw Jeongyeon staring at her expectantly.

 

“Just what?” Jeongyeon taunted her to go on. Chaeyoung rolled her eyes and grab their beers from Jeongyeon’s hands. Jeongyeon wanted to prod more but Chaeyoung turned her back and stomped back to the direction from where they came. “Come on! There is no shame in admitting defeat!” she laughed.

 

“Okay!” Chaeyoung whined. “We’re just acquaintances.”

 

Jeongyeon snorted at Chaeyoung’s choice of words. But in the younger one’s defense, that was a good exhibition of vocabulary prowess.

 

“Where is she anyways?” Jeongyeon’s laughter subsided.

 

“Well.” Chaeyoung sighed. She transferred all the cans of beer that she’s holding to one arm, securing them into a big hug. With her other hand, she fished her phone out of her pocket and swiped about. “She said she’ll be here a little later. Something about some assigned cheer team tasks she needed to finish.”

 

Jeongyeon’s shoulders jerked wildly with her snickers, and Chaeyoung easily realized how she fucked herself up.

 

“Oh, come on, Jeong.”

 

“Sorry —” Jeongyeon interrupted herself with her own laughter. “I’m just gonna text my ‘acquaintance’ my whereabouts and the reason for my absence. And that I’ll be there soon. It’s not like we’re friends or anything.”

 

“It’s not like that!” Chaeyoung tried to defend herself, until she heard a halt in Jeongyeon’s steps. Chaeyoung turned to the older girl, hating the fact that she had this smirk painted over her face.

 

“Then, what is it like?”

 

“It’s like..” Chaeyoung stumbled on her thoughts and mumbled. “It’s like..” and mumbled. “It’s kind of like.” then surrendered altogether. “I’ve just lost in this conversation, haven’t I?”

 

“You lost a couple seconds ago but you get extra style points for that mumbling thing.” Jeongyeon winked and walked past the younger girl. “Thanks for playing! Come back anytime for a rematch. I’d recommend bringing a non-acquaintance this time.”

 

“Ugh. Fuck you.” Chaeyoung put on a sour smile. “You’ve just successfully made me wish that Nayeon was here.”

 

“And Nayeon would do exactly what?”

 

“I don’t know.” Chaeyoung shrugged “She can make you get off my back, for starters. She gets your attention.”

 

“Pffft. What?” Jeongyeon lost it. But before she could even form a decent defense, a voice calls out from behind her.

 

“Oh, wow. Such an honor to be the subject of Jeongyeon’s attention.” Nayeon clapped softly. “It’s like personalized hell.”

 

Of course Nayeon would show up in the most convenient of times and Jeongyeon felt vindicated in her suspicions that Nayeon lives in dark corners. A moment later, Mina and Jisoo stepped in, giving her and Chaeyoung a small wave and a big smile. They never really had the chance to hang out with Jisoo but she’s good, as is expected from anyone in Nayeon’s immediate circle in the cheer team.

 

“You would totally fit there with your fork and your horns. Such convenience!” Jeongyeon bit back.

 

“It would only be convenient if I get to burn you over and over.”

 

“You have intense kinks, Im Nayeon.”

 

“And you’re just dying to see it in action, don’t you?” Nayeon smirked, “Too bad I’ll never do you, band girl.”

 

“Totally understandable because no one would ever do you.” Jeongyeon quickly replied but was immediately taken off guard when Nayeon got into her face. A playful smile curved up on the corner of her lips as she whispered. There was a glint of tease glazed in her eyes.

 

“Says who?” Nayeon cocked her brow. Jeongyeon was quiet at this point, only squinting both her eyes when she took in Nayeon’s challenge. If only Nayeon wasn’t this up close on her face, Jeongyeon would’ve thought of a better comeback.

 

But the moment was gone now and the only thing left were the obvious clues that they’re just playfully hateful of each other. That or that they get off from taking each other down whenever they can.

 

“Did Jeongyeon’s granddad killed Nayeon’s? I really think there’s an ancient grudge between your families.” Jisoo’s finger went back and forth between the two.

 

“No.” Jeongyeon denied, her eyes still staring down into Nayeon’s. “I just do this for fun.” It was at this moment that Mina turned to Jisoo and with the back of her hand covering the side of her mouth, she confirmed quietly that it’s an ancient blood feud.

 

“Yeah. Only people who get their asses kicked cry out that it was just all for fun.” Nayeon let out a satisfied sigh. “You get style points for trying, though.”

 

_ Style points. _ It was the second time Chaeyoung heard that term. Nayeon and Jeongyeon had been at it since the start of the year that they’re throwing the same terms back and forth to each other. But that wasn’t really the strange part. The strange part is how they can seemingly switch their tussle on and off. At one point they’re at each others necks, and on another, Jeongyeon and Nayeon were talking like.. they were not just acquaintances.

 

“Where’d you get the beer?” Nayeon asked, her face contorted in annoyance that she had to talk to Jeongyeon. But also, it sounded weirdly diplomatic.

 

“Jieun’s combi, right there.” Jeongyeon nodded towards the direction of the van and continued, “Get the ones in the blue cooler they’re colder. I also left a couple of water bottles there. You should get that before some uncivilized folk take it and use it for something other than hydration.”

 

“Alright. Tell Sana we’ll join you guys in a minute.” Nayeon replied then turned to Chaeyoung. “And Chae, tell Chewy to haul ass here because I need someone to stop me from killing your friend.”

 

“Why me?” Chaeyoung said, quite confused.

 

“Why not?” Nayeon winked. It took a moment for Chaeyoung to get back to her senses but when she did, Nayeon was already walking away with her arms linked with Jisoo and Mina. Soon enough, Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung found themselves alone just like how they were a moment ago. They started walking back to where Sana and Dahyun are.

 

“You guys are weird.” Chaeyoung’s voice finally broke the silence, competing only with ambient shouting and the crunching sand.

 

“Who?” Jeongyeon glanced at her.

 

“You and Nayeon.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I don’t know. Do you guys hate each other? You secretly friends or something?” Chaeyoung shrugged.

 

“What made you think that?” Jeongyeon just marched on, leaving Chaeyoung with more questions than answers. Chaeyoung didn’t prod any further after that, but she let that thought play inside her head for a little while. Would be interesting to see Jeongyeon date Nayeon, and if she’s going to be honest, they’d look cute together.

 

Would she and Tzuyu look good together? She’s short. Tzuyu’s obscenely tall. She’s a loser. Tzuyu’s one of the popular girls. She’s just some artsy student that everyone found weird. Tzuyu? Well, she’s everyone’s favorite girl.

 

They’ll never look cute together. That was the short answer to that question. Actually, why did she even think that she’d have a chance? Tzuyu did ask her out that one time, but that invite never materialized into anything yet. No dinners. No dates. No anything. They’re just back in their usual set up of constant messaging and maybe weekends spent on painting a street mural.

 

“Chae!” Dahyun called out loudly. Chaeyoung snapped out of her thoughts and saw Sana and Dahyun looking at her. How many times has Dahyun been calling her?

 

“Uhh.. yeah?” she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

 

“Are you okay?” Dahyun searched for her eyes and smiled.

 

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung smiled back. “I’m good.”

 

~

 

The bonfire party was in full swing by the time Tzuyu parked her car into the beach. Meanwhile, her friends were making quite a scene with some stupid competition involving Dahyun, Sana, Momo, and Mina. Dahyun picked Mina as her teammate, then the football girls were left to sort things on their own. The game was simple, shoot as much cheese ball into your teammate’s mouth, and for some reason, the athletes were losing. Dahyun and Mina have always been systematic. Mina is a gamer. Dahyun is the president. Problem solving is in their blood, and maybe they'll pass on their cheese ball shooting skills onto their children.

 

The game ended with Dahyun and Mina doing a double high five and a hug. Sana and Momo, of course, would reason out that they let them win on purpose. Then, it was Dahyun’s turn to taunt Sana by walking up to her face whispering

 

“God. Must suck to lose. Good thing we’re not feeling it right now.” Dahyun whispered with a fake hint of concern. “I should talk to your mom. Maybe tell her I kicked your ass.”

 

Sana wrapped an arm around Dahyun’s waist and pulled her close that they’re chest to chest. Dahyun gasped quietly, but looked up to meet Sana’s eyes anyway.

 

“I’m not gonna tell her you cried like a wimp.” Dahyun kept on rubbing it in. Sana just chuckled and nodded in response. Then, with her free hand, she goes on to ruffle Dahyun’s hair a bit. Dahyun is annoyingly cute, and kissing her now would shut her up real good. But that’s not in the options so she lets Dahyun have her fun for now. This would’ve been the perfect time to nail Nancy in the head, kissing Dahyun in front of everyone.

 

Guess it would have to wait.

 

As their group went back to their usual ways, Chaeyoung retreated to the sidelines where she’s much more satisfied from watching them from afar. It was a strange sight seeing their council friends having fun with other people, especially Nayeon’s cheerleaders and Sana’s teammates. She can’t seem to figure out her feelings yet but there’s this tinge of guilt in her heart for harboring hatred towards the same people who Dahyun and Jeongyeon are hanging out with.

 

The same people that Tzuyu belonged to.

 

“Hi, Chae.” a voice squeaked from behind her. Chaeyoung almost jumped in surprise and turned toward where the voice came from. It was one of the cheerleaders outside Nayeon’s circle. She’s young. Maybe a year below them since her face isn’t really ringing any bells. For some reason, Chaeyoung felt a bit disappointed that it wasn’t Tzuyu but she tuned in to the young cheerleader still when she noticed that she’s holding something out towards her. “Uh.. Uhmm..” she fumbled. Chaeyoung felt a bit bad. “Uhh.. Tzuyu. She wanted you to have this.”

 

It was a folded stationery page. Pink. A note?

 

“What’s this?”

 

The person shrugged. Tzuyu must’ve asked her a favor so Chaeyoung put the girl out of her misery by taking the piece of folded paper.

 

_ Hi, Chae. :) _

_ I have a surprise for you. Haha. _

_ Meet me by the huts in the Sat ;) _

 

“Huh.” Chaeyoung’s shoulder jerked. She looked up to the messenger but found that she was long gone. She glanced back to Dahyun who was secured by Sana with a back hug, and to Nayeon who was shooting the remaining cheeseballs into Jeongyeon’s mouth, or at least she’s deliberately trying to miss her marks. No reason to interrupt her friends, Chaeyoung thought. So with one last swig from her beer can, she quietly slipped out from the group and started walking towards the giant satellite dishes.

 

Tzuyu is relentless. Chaeyoung have to give her that. She’s always the first one to greet her in the hallways and never misses a day without saying hi. And no matter how hard she tried to avoid the cheerleader, Chaeyoung secretly wishes for them to meet in places away from gossip’s eyes. Just to talk. Talk about their friends. Talk about Chaeyoung’s art. Talk about Tzuyu’s dog. Or maybe some random thing that caught their attention.

 

She lets out a deep breath as she wrapped her jacket closer around her. Slowly, the lights from the beach faded as she walked further into the satellite array. The shuffling sand under her feet became the only thing she could hear and her beating heart that’s strangely beating faster than it should.

 

Back at the beach, the crowd began to form into smaller groups as the flames subsided into a manageable fireball. The stoners had their own corner where they passed around blunts and pipes, listening to the Crystal Fighters while they laugh at their own laughter. Some waddled by the shallows, kicking water towards the beach. The others settled near or around the white screen when someone said that the movie is about to start. To whatever it was, nobody gave a fuck. They just want something to watch while they’re getting drunk.

 

Dahyun yawns quietly, settling inside the space between Sana’s open legs. The quarterback leaned forward against Dahyun’s back and checked up on the president.

 

“It’s just 9PM. How are sleepy at this time?” she teased.

 

“Try raising a rowdy Sana. See how long you can last.” Dahyun just leaned back onto Sana, squirming a bit to get a good position.

 

“Come on. It’s not like you hate being with me.” Sana giggled as she nuzzled her nose against Dahyun’s cheek. Dahyun winced playfully and turned to Sana, pulling away but found that she cannot move her head back any further.

 

“You do all sorts of things when Nancy’s around.” Dahyun whispered softly into Sana’s lips, staring at her with those dreamy hazel eyes.

 

“Yeah.” Sana almost choked up in her own thoughts. She wasn’t nuzzling on Dahyun just because of the ex, but Dahyun doesn’t need to know that. Not when Sana was caught confused by the moment as well. “Thought you’d forget.”

 

“No kissing, though. I already paid for that.” Dahyun then readjusted herself so she could rest the back of her head on Sana’s shoulder. Sana waited for Dahyun to settle down, then she plants a soft kiss on the side of Dahyun’s head. Dahyun gave her a quick glance, flashed a smile, then went back to listening to the story that Jisoo was sharing with the group.

 

Sana’s arms tightened around Dahyun’s waist to make sure she wasn’t cold. Then she looked around the crowd until she saw Nancy in front. She was doing something in the laptop while the basketball boys were laughing around whatever she’s saying. And before she could break off her gaze, Nancy looks at her and smirks.

 

Sana’s eyes narrowed. If she learned anything from dating the head cheerleader, it’s the fact that a smile like that can never be trusted.

 

“Jihyo.” Sana turned away from Dahyun for a quick second, then Jihyo leaned her ear towards Sana. “Where are our girls?”

 

“Scattered.”

 

“Do we have girls hanging out with the basketball boys?”

 

“Maybe?” Jihyo thought for a second then changed her answer. “Most probably. Why?”

 

“Nothing.” Sana lets out a deep breath. “Check in on me if anyone of them gets into trouble.”

 

“Roger that.” Jihyo complied then slouched back into her seat. Sana tried to go back to her last position too but instead, she noticed Dahyun was leaning forward with her eyes darting around the area as if searching for something.

 

“What’s wrong, babe?” Sana whispered in Dahyun’s ear, but her eyes were following wherever Dahyun’s eyes were directed.

 

“Chaeyoung. Where is she?”

 

“Maybe with Chewy? Heard she just arrived.”

 

“Oh.” Dahyun nodded. “Okay.” she could only say, not letting her overprotectiveness get the best of her.

 

It didn’t take too long after that when the projector flashed an image. It’s in first person, like someone is holding a camera. The entire image was in a green hue that made everything unrealistically visible. The one holding the camera seemed to be in a room. The walls were roughed up, dented, and holed corrugated GI sheet used to cover quonset huts. There are some tables, filing cabinets that are as rusted, but most of the place is bare.

 

Some of the basketball boys, football girls, and cheer leaders were giggling to themselves like they have some private joke that they refused to share with the class. Clique jokes are a normal thing in this high school jungle, but with their bodies practically pressed against each other, Sana felt Dahyun tense up.

 

“Jeongyeon.” Dahyun called out to her friend. “Where’s Chae?” She asked the same question as before, but much more stern and demanding of an answer. It made their group threw inquisitive glances back and forth to each other, trying to figure out what Dahyun was getting at.

 

The ‘film’ continued to roll. This time, the camera turns to the table, revealing to figures giggling mischievously. Two guys, with one stupid enough to wear his varsity jacket even with their masks on. The camera swings its view. It’s two girls this time. Two of them wearing their football jackets.

 

Sana quickly snapped her gaze to Jihyo. There were no words, but Jihyo was slowly getting up. Dahyun was half-getting up too when Sana tried to hold her down.

 

“Baby, wait.” Sana whimpered, trying to calm Dahyun down.

 

Then, the sounds from the video turned from laughing to a rapid exchange of shushing. Dahyun pushed Sana off her gently, eyes still locked on the projector screen. The camera turned to the entrance and when a familiar figure revealed itself by the doorway, Dahyun felt her stomach churn.

 

The stoners are watching now, and the crowd is getting bigger, filled with their perverse anticipation of what’s about to come.

 

“Sana. What are they doing?” Dahyun accused, as if Sana knew something. “Sana!”

 

“I don’t know!” Sana almost stuttered.

 

“Stop your team.” Dahyun pleaded as she saw the camera move slowly towards Chaeyoung.

 

“Wait, I think.. I think it’s just a harmless prank.” Sana tried to reason out but when Tzuyu forcefully emerged to the front, equally confused and worried, Dahyun’s heart sank. Tzuyu has no idea of any of this, and everyone is about to witness how preys are dealt with in this highschool jungle.

 

The camera suddenly bolted towards Chaeyoung and at the same moment everyone heard a loud scream from a distance.

 

Dahyun quickly got up. Her heart was pounding loudly, drowning out the amused laughter of the crowd. She dared not to look on what was happening on the screen. All she wanted was to get to Chaeyoung fast.

 

"Jeongyeon! Get Chaeyoung, quick! She’s in the satellite array!"

 

There wasn't even an answer from Jeongyeon. She just ran towards where the screams were coming from. Dahyun took a quick picture of what was being shown on the screen then yanked off the cord connecting the laptop to the projector. The laptop fell, the crowd gasped, and Dahyun conveniently just ran out of fucks to give.

 

"Dahyun, wait!" Sana tried to snatch the president's wrist but Dahyun was too quick to pull it away.

 

"There’s your fucking harmless prank! That’s your teammates!" then Dahyun sprinted to where Jeongyeon ran off to. Tzuyu trailed behind together with Mina.

 

It didn’t take long before Jeongyeon and the others got to the scene. Two basketball boys were splashing a mixture of beach water and something else on Chaeyoung who was pinned down by two girls. Chaeyoung was trying her best to fight. She was crying and screaming and writhing to free herself from the grip. But no matter what the bullies were doing, she never allowed herself to beg for their mercy. She just kept on screaming. The only form of fight that she could muster.

 

“Do you really think that Chewy will like you?!” the one with the camera cackled. “Fucking nerd!” then they all laughed like Chaeyoung’s a fucking joke of a person.

 

Then, a thunder of footsteps came echoing from the dark. A figure leapt out from the low bushes and lunged at the pranksters.

 

"Get off her!" Jeongyeon, with whatever strength she has left from sprinting, pushed off one of the football girls before helping Chaeyoung up. "Come on!" Chaeyoung scrambled up on her feet.

 

When the perpetrators heard more footsteps and cracking leaves, they ran off into the dark. Nayeon, Mina, and Tzuyu reached Chaeyoung seconds after the pranksters dispersed. Sinister giggles and howls echoed and it made Tzuyu’s stomach churn in the awfulest ways.

 

“I got you, dude.” Jeongyeon assured but her eyes were glaring at where the giggles were fading to.

 

Chaeyoung was wet all over, reeking of liquor, and the smell of fish. Her hair was drenched and her cheeks were stained with fish blood. Jeongyeon held her close, not really giving a fuck if she’d smell the same way. The important thing is, Chaeyoung is safe now.

 

"Are you oka —.” Tzuyu asked softly as she reached her hand out but Chaeyoung swatted it away.

 

"Chaeyoung!" Nayeon screamed. The next thing that Tzuyu felt was a ball of crumpled paper bounce off her tear stained cheek.

 

"Nayeon!" Jeongyeon growled back in Chaeyoung’s defense but was quick to take back her tone as well. They’re both clueless to what just happened and even if it was unfair for Tzuyu, she can’t blame Chaeyoung either. “Just get Tzuyu and Mina out of here. Please.”

 

The vice captain tried her best not to argue back. She turned to Tzuyu who was rubbing the back of her hand, quite dazed at Chaeyoug’s outburst. Even in the darkness, she could see that Tzuyu was about to cry.

 

"Chaeyoung!" Dahyun's voice echoed through the darkness behind Jeongyeon. Seconds later, she emerged from the bushes and rushed to the front of Chaeyoung. She cupped her best friend’s face and tilted it up a bit so she could get a better look. "Oh my god. Are you okay? Who the fucking hell was here?!"

 

"Too dark. But I saw Jackson, Mark, and JB. Some football girls were here as well. Hyebin and Taeha." Jeongyeon quickly listed, now clutching Chaeyoung's head against her chest.

 

"We're going home. Can you stand?" Dahyun asked Chaeyoung with such gentleness that was not present before. Chaeyoung just nodded. It was the only answer she could muster.

 

The president and Jeongyeon helped Chaeyoung stand. Before they walked off, Jeongyeon met Nayeon’s eyes and they both nodded in a quiet understanding.

 

"Girls, let's go." Nayeon grabbed Tzuyu’s wrist and began heading back down the beach. The council kids went the other way towards where Jeongyeon parked her car.

 

Sana, Jihyo, and Momo made their way up to the array as well but only met Nayeon and the cheerleaders heading down.

 

“What happened? Where’s Dahyun and Chaeyoung?” Sana asked, her voice laced with worry.

 

“They’re leaving. Jeongyeon’s driving them home.” Nayeon sighed. “This is bad.” then she discreetly glanced at Tzuyu’s direction, prompting the football girls to do the same.

 

Tzuyu had her arms wrapped around her waist. She was looking down on her feet, tracing shapes on the sand with her foot. She was still holding the balled note in her hand, not really wanting to read whatever’s on it.

 

“It’s just a prank. Jeez.” Momo mumbled.

 

“Momo. Stop.” Mina’s voice was uncharacteristically hard.

 

“It’s not like we cared!” Momo answered, not taking what Mina was putting up. “These things happen all the time! We’re just having this problem now because Sana decided to date the council president!”

 

“What the fuck are you on to?” Sana frowned, quite annoyed.

 

“I’m just saying! Why do we need to be involved in this?” Momo continued to reason. “We were fine before Dahyun came into the picture! Dahyun and the council can handle this! Just like how they always did. Or at least tried to!”

 

“Yeah.” Tzuyu finally spoke, quickly warranting everyone’s attention. Her voice cracked as she tried her best to hold back her tears. “Yeah. Maybe we should just let things be. Maybe we should just embrace being part of the problem. That would be a fucking grand idea, don’t you think?”

 

The words disarmed Momo as potently as Mina’s stern look. The silence that followed allowed Sana to hear her own thoughts. Her mind kept going back to the moment where Dahyun pleaded for Sana to do something. But what? Hyebin and Taeha are her teammates. What was she supposed to do? Drive a wedge between the team?

 

_ Fuck. _

 

Sana bit her lips under her growl. This is what Nancy wanted when she went after Chaeyoung. Nancy was forcing her to choose, and holy fuck, Sana cannot let her win.

 

“Jihyo.” Sana clenched her fists. “Get all our girls off this beach now.”

 

“But —.” Momo piped.

 

“Now!” Sana’s voice thundered. “Every football player that I find when I get back down the fucking beach can kiss the next game goodbye!”

 

“You’re not serious.” Momo whined.

 

“You wanna try?” Sana cocked her brow and stared in Momo’s eyes. And as her gaze held onto Momo’s, she called out to check if her orders are being carried out. “Jihyo?”

 

“I’m on it.” Jihyo nods then turned back to the bonfire.

 

The cheerleaders walked Tzuyu back to her car while Sana jogged down to where Jeongyeon parked her car. Dahyun was still there, wiping of Chaeyoung’s hair and cheeks with some wet wipes.

 

“Hey, Dahyun. Wait up.”

 

Dahyun watched as Sana approached them carefully. The president gestured for Chaeyoung to get in the car as if Sana carried trouble with her. Sana can’t tell if it was the reflection of the bonfire in the distance but there was something different in Dahyun’s eyes. Dahyun’s eyes were always gentle, curious, and warm. And even when she’s annoyed, Dahyun never looked at her in such.. disappointment.

 

“You just stood there.” Dahyun voice cracked as she stabbed her finger into Sana’s chest. The quarterback took a step back. Surprised and confused. “Your team was involved and you just stood there as they made fun of Chaeyoung.”

 

The tears were becoming more difficult to hold back the more she looked into Sana’s eyes. Sana said it herself. She said that they can pretend date but they can be friends for real. So why is there a hint of confusion in her eyes? Why did she not take her and Chaeyoung’s side? She never knew what she was expecting from Sana, but it was definitely not her callous neutrality.

 

“Let’s not overreact here.” Sana mumbled as she desperately tried to put the broken parts together. If she could mediate between her implicated teammates and Dahyun’s friend, maybe she can stop Nancy from driving them apart. But Dahyun’s face contorts like she just said the stupidest thing.

 

“What?” Dahyun’s eyes narrowed. Sana could feel her girlfriend’s eyes pierce into hers.

 

“Dahyun.”

 

“What the fuck did you say?”

 

Dahyun’s words were clear, slow, and heavy. Like she was drilling every bit of that question into Sana’s head. Sana opened her mouth to say something but failed to think of words that can save her from what has already been said.

 

“I- I- I just.. Let’s think through this first. Maybe they didn’t mean for it to go that far.” Sana said, and damn was it stupid.

 

“Can you even fucking hear yourself right now?” Dahyun’s clenched fists were more than enough to tell Jeongyeon that the president can blow up any second, and that’s the last thing they need right now.

 

“Dahyun, that’s enough.” Jeongyeon said softly, hoping that she could stop her friend from lashing out at Sana. Dahyun lets out a long sigh. The tears are burning her eyes and she couldn’t stand Sana any longer. She shook her head slowly in disbelief.

 

“Sana.” Dahyun wiped her tears. “We were supposed to be friends. You said so yourself.” Dahyun’s chin crumpled. She looked down for a moment to hide the pain, then she looked back into Sana’s eyes. “So, why were you hesitating?”

 

There was a pang in Sana’s chest that she can’t seem to place. The way Dahyun said her name felt like she failed Dahyun. But they were just supposed to play around with this idea. She shouldn’t have this brewing fear inside of her, telling her that they’re about to descend into their first big fight.

 

Mina once said that people have a who hurt each other in disagreements, deliberately or not, have a special relationship. It meant that they were holding onto expectations that one would never hurt another. And so, as Sana watched Jeongyeon drive off Dahyun, she realized that she was hurt that Dahyun was hurting.

 

Maybe, through the awful amount of time that they spent with each other, they weren’t mere greeting-friends anymore. Maybe, they have this special relationship that Sana just refused to acknowledge.

  
  
  


///

  
  


[ **_(song cue)_ ** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma440BTErHw)

  
  


“What do you need? Water? Wipes?” Jieun asked as she rummaged stuff from her backpack. Jieun never took interest in joining the council but she has always been a good friend to the three of them. So much so that she left her van on the beach just so she could assist Dahyun and Chaeyoung.

 

“Water please.” Dahyun reached her hand out between the seats, then she glanced at Jeongyeon as Jieun passed a cold bottle. “Jeong, put the windows down.”

 

The car fucking reeked with the stench, but none of it was registering in Jeongyeon’s senses. She gripped the steering wheel tight. The whites of her knuckles were showing. At this point, Chaeyoung knows that Jeongyeon would’ve said something really stupid or tried to make everyone laugh. But this time she’s quiet.

 

Chaeyoung also knows that if Jeongyeon’s shuts her mouth, it’s her trying to stop the urge to punch someone’s face.

 

“I’m sorry.” Chaeyoung croaked. “I’m sorry I ruined your night, guys.”

 

“No, no, no, baby.” Dahyun was quick to shush the younger girl, and Chaeyoung could feel the thundering beat of Dahyun’s heart when Dahyun held her head closer to her chest. “It’s not your fault. We’ll get you home, okay?”

 

Chaeyoung wanted to say more. She wanted to say that if she wasn’t much of a loser then Dahyun and Jeongyeon wouldn’t be tied down in watching her back every time. She wanted to say that Dahyun wouldn’t have a problem next Monday if only she was stronger to stand up for herself. She wanted to say sorry because now, they’d be at war with the bullies when Monday comes.

 

She wanted to say that it was her fault, but her strength was waning. Her vision was fading. And the last thing she saw was Jieun squeezing Jeongyeon’s arm to calm her down, and Dahyun angrily hanging up Sana’s call before tossing her phone away. She could feel her own phone buzzing as well. It might be Tzuyu. But at this point, she doesn’t give a shit.

 

She just needed to say sorry to her friends.

  
  


~

  
  


“She’s fine for now.” Jeongyeon quietly mumbled on her phone. The scent of roasted tea was a stark contrast to the liquor laced sea breeze they escaped from. From the dining room, she watched as Dahyun dumped Chaeyoung’s clothes in the washing machine, being as caring as she always was.

 

Chaeyoung was tucked in Dahyun’s bed, but not after a long argument with Dahyun. Chaeyoung pleaded to her friends not to let her parents see her in her bullied state. Dahyun wanted her parents to know, but Chaeyoung said that she’ll tell them herself.

 

Dahyun relentend in the end, and just trusted Chaeyoung’s judgement. It has been a long night and god knows she needed a good rest.

 

“I.. I.. I’m sorry, babe.” Jeongyeon said in hushed tones as brushed her hair back. “I can’t meet you tomorrow. Yeah. We need to be with, Chae.” She watched Dahyun closely, just in case she comes near. She noticed how Dahyun hung up a call for the twelfth time. And since they saw Dahyun’s dad retreat to his room, the call can only come from one person at this point.

 

“No. Let’s just say they’re not in speaking terms right now.” Jeongyeon sighed. “Hmm? I don’t know for how long. We can’t let this drag on, though. What do you mean you have an idea?”

 

Jeongyeon stopped mumbling at this point but Dahyun’s thoughts were too clouded to notice. Her phone lit up again, showing Sana’s picture on the screen. Dahyun argued that it’s not needed but Sana said she has Dahyun’s picture on her phone whenever she calls. Just like any other special person. Especially her  _ girlfriend _ .

 

Her finger hovered over the green phone button, trying to wait out who would win the battle between her head and her heart, then, before the ringing ended, she picked her phone up and answered. There was a relieved sigh on the other end of the line. As one could expect from someone who had been waiting for long.

 

“Hey, babe.” Sana’s voice was uncharacteristically mellow, but Dahyun can’t let this one go just like that.

 

“Sana. I’m tired.” Dahyun managed to say. “Can we sleep?”

 

“Can I talk to you tomorrow?”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“Oh.” Sana swallowed the lump in her throat. She glanced at Dahyun’s window, only to see that her lights were closed. “Uhmm.. can I come over? I still have your stuff. In the car.” Sana winced at how pathetic her excuses sounded.

 

“Just leave it here tomorrow.”

 

“Dahyun. Can we please just talk? I’m sorry.”

 

“Sana,” Dahyun closed her eyes shut and took a deep breath to stop her emotions from flaring. “Don’t apologize when you don’t know what you’re apologizing for. Let’s just get some rest.”

 

Sana remained quiet after the sudden verbal chastisement. In Dahyun’s defense, Sana really didn’t know what she was apologizing for. All she wanted was to end this fight before Monday comes.

 

She thought that this is a normal fight between friends, just like the ones that she had with Jihyo and Momo. But this one is different. She really disliked the feeling of Dahyun being  _ this  _ far away from her. Disliked the fact that she might not be able to talk to her. She disliked the moments where Dahyun managed to ignore her. And disliked the feeling that she might lose her.

 

It was strange to suddenly feel this way but Sana managed to push these feelings into the small corner of her heart.

 

“Okay.” Sana sighed in surrender, but prayed that the next words mattered still. “I luf you.”

 

“Yeah.” Dahyun replied scarcely. Sana just closed her eyes and pressed her lips together because shit, it sucks when Dahyun didn’t return their phrase this time. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she heard the line go silent.

 

Dahyun placed her phone down the washing machine. She didn’t like feeling this way as much as Sana but her mind keeps going back to Chaeyoung and what she had to endure. There are things that made themselves apparent, and one of which is that Sana didn’t have her back when she needed it the most.

 

Dahyun was hurt. Even if she thought that she has no right to be, she was definitely hurt.

 

Meanwhile, in Dahyun’s room, Chaeyoung’s phone kept on bleeping. To be more exact, it was an exchange of buzzing and bleepings. Calls and messages coming in one after the other. And when another one came in, Chaeyoung’s hand slams on the phone to shut it up.

 

Then it bleeped again.

  
  


**[Tzuyu]:**

Hey. :(

 

**[Tzuyu]:**

Answer my calls please.

 

**[Tzuyu]:**

Are you safe?

Talk to me, please.

 

**[Tzuyu]:**

Please talk to me.

I thought we’re friends.

 

**[Chaeyoung]:**

Tzuyu.

We are not friends.

 

~

 

All it took was two replies from Chaeyoung. For the rest of the night, just like her thoughts, her phone remained awfully quiet.

 

*********

  
  
  


**A/N**

Apologies for the rather (super) hefty chapter. It was bad plot organization on my end but at least we get to almost wrap up that first act. So! The Bee and I have been pretty swamped up with work and personal things as of late but don’t worry, we’re using up our freetimes (as much as we can) to make sure that we can push this story to the direction that we wanted to.

 

I’m really glad that you guys have been liking the songs so far. It really means a lot to me. Even more so, your unending support no matter how long it’s taking us.

 

20k plus in one chapter huh? Holy crap. Again! Thank you so so much and we’ll see you in the next update!

  
  



	7. A Super Duper Emergency (1)

 

**A Super Duper Emergency**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

 

 _“You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you’ll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk.”_ \- They Both Die At The End (Adam Silvera)  
 

///

  
 

 **@kmdhyun** 43m

Some people can really be disgusting sometimes.

 

 **@AtteridgeGossiper** 2h

I smell something fishy. Literally. Lol (wink) (heart)

 

 **@ChewyChou** 1h

That was not FUCKING funny

 

 **@superfritobae** 1d

I am pretty sure that the student body is 95% Asian. Except maybe me, Saeed Mandari, and Ashley Nguyen. Oh.. wait. FUCK! Oh! There’s Jasmine McGee!

 

> **@YerimSaysShit** 9h
> 
> Jasmine McGee’s mom is Thai.
> 
>  
> 
> **@superfritobae** 9h
> 
> FUCK???

 

 **@AtteridgeGossiper** 3h

Ooooh! Movie night! I wonder what’s showing? Fish girl? Yikes! (wink)

  
 

///

 

Dahyun and Jeongyeon sat down on either side of Chaeyoung. The floor tiles of the gym shower room felt cold against their under thighs as their PE shorts gave little covering.

 

But for Chaeyoung, that coldness is better than her soaked clothes. Her hair was clinging messily on her forehead in a mixture of soda and mop water. Apparently, someone thought it was a good idea to mix water balloons in a dodgeball match, and that the perfect targets are those who wouldn’t put up a fight.

 

This was a year ago. Dahyun, the vice president of the student council was using her spare shirt to dry Chaeyoung’s hair. Jeongyeon, just having a growing reputation of ‘that band girl’, was messaging Jieun to bring some soap.

 

“I’ll tell the administration about this.” Dahyun huffed. “This is unacceptable.” The verve in her tone was heavily contrasted only by the gentleness of her hands. She wiped Chaeyoung’s face carefully, trying her best to make sure that Chaeyoung goes home in the most decent form that their cleaning skills could allow. “I’ll talk to the principal later.”

 

“Dahyun.” Chaeyoung finally speaks. She weakly holds onto Dahyun’s wrist, pulling the vice president’s hand away from her face. “Don’t.”

 

“What?” Dahyun ‘s brow creased. “They should know!”

 

“No. No. It will give them a reason to make it worse.” her friend sighed. “Snitches get stitches, remember?”

 

“To hell with that shit!”

 

“Dahyun. Please.” Chaeyoung practically begged, and it hurt Dahyun because she shouldn’t be the one doing the pleading. “The school will just say they’ll look into it. Then the pranks will just get worse.”

 

Dahyun’s shoulders sank in surrender, and she couldn’t help when her lips curved down in a somber frown. It was just so unfair.

 

“Shouldn’t we..” the vice president combed her hair back with her fingers, visibly upset that it was Chaeyoung who was stopping her to do the very thing that she was elected to do — defend the welfare of the scholastic body.

 

Chaeyoung sniffed, then tried to put on the best smile that she could give. A quiet promise that things will look up, and just like every other shit that she had to go through, this too, shall pass.

 

“Shouldn’t we do something about it? It can’t be like this.” Dahyun protested.

 

“Don’t worry.” Chaeyoung coughed out a laughter when Dahyun began tearing up. “When you’re president, shit like this won’t happen to us anymore.”

 

At least, that was the idea. That was the promise. And just like some promises, this one was meant to be broken.

 

That same day, after Chaeyoung was sent home, Dahyun went to the principal’s office and told everything that happened. She expected them to be as enthusiastic as her when it comes to bringing about righteous justice, but she was only welcomed by a lukewarm reception and the line “Chaeyoung should be the one to push for the case, not you, Dahyun.”

 

The story is the same this year. The ‘Infinite Year’ where Dahyun was elected president. The year where they’re supposed to get off unscathed.

 

She should’ve given up on those thoughts the moment she woke up half naked beside Sana. She should’ve steered her friends away from the bad news, and now she found herself wishing for some kind of help that she felt would never come. But she tried, still. Tried to get help from the same people that shrugged her off a year ago.

 

The skin between her brows were creased. Her lips were shaking slightly and with the way her eyes were closed, she was immersing herself into the placebo that is ‘mind over matter’.

 

Dahyun hated the principal’s office.

 

She hated the dull walls adorned with certificates and pictures of previous administrators. They always feel like they were closing in and around her. It was drowning her thoughts, then it would go on to drown her lungs altogether. Her finger was twitching at some moments as her mind waged battle with itself.

 

The cushioned benches felt stiff. The AC felt a tad more chilly. Cold beads of sweat began to trickle from her temples, but Dahyun kept forcing herself to be here. For Chaeyoung’s sake.

 

The minutes that passed awfully felt like an hour. And even if she could see the principal end his phone conversation, she never gave herself a moment to be optimistic. Soon, she was ushered into the office and discussed what transpired during the bonfire.

 

“Dahyun.” the principal folded his arms under his chest. He looks down on the carpet, as if Dahyun’s presence shouldn’t even be warranted. As if this kind of intercession wasn’t needed. “Did this happen in a school sanctioned event?”

 

Dahyun’s heart clenched. She knew exactly where this question was leading to. She pressed her lips together because if she utters the truth, then all of this will be meaningless. Unfortunately for her, her silence gave the principal everything that he needed to know.

 

“This is outside school. This is not in our jurisdiction.”

 

Dahyun hated the principal’s office.

 

Contrary to how the public painted her, her proximity to the system only made her realize its callousness. A lofty tower where most of the residents are focused on merely moving them through the halls. Less involvement meant less work. Less work meant less trouble.

 

She hated the principal’s office. Hated how it makes her fist clench until her palms sting from the deeply buried nails. She marched outside and into the hallway, her lungs instantly unfurling, thirsty for the open air like she just got yanked out from drowning. The relief was there, finally. But the anger lingered.

 

Jeongyeon, with her back pressed against the wall, watched as her friend approached her.

 

“So?” Jeongyeon mumbled as Dahyun was about to pass her.

 

Dahyun just bit her lip to stop herself from tearing up. Then she shook her head and just kept on walking.

 

From a distance, Mina and Sana watched the two girls march down the hallway in defeated looks. Sana gazes down, shuts her eyes, and pinches the bridge of her nose. Dahyun has been refusing to acknowledge her presence for the past days, and Sana’s beginning to think that things are just going to get worse.

 

“Keep moping like that and you’ll lose your girlfriend.” Mina said softly but sternly,

 

“I’m not moping!” Sana hissed. “I’m thinking of something, okay?”

 

“Fix this. I’m not gonna tell you again.” Mina turned to Sana and pushed the quarterback’s chin up. She stared into Sana’s eyes, making sure that her words get through. “And to whatever you’re thinking of, make it fucking quick.”

  
 

///

  
 

At the night of the bonfire, when emotions were high, friendships were tested, and people were wholly drenched, Sana heard the sand behind her crunch under someone’s feet.

 

“Oh, Dahyun left without you?” a familiar voice chimed from behind Sana’s shoulder and it made her jaws tighten. “I thought you guys are staying for the show?”

 

“Get away from me.” Sana spat out between gritted teeth. “You and your friends are fucking sick.”

 

“Wow!” Nancy began to slow clap. “Look at you all goody and righteous!” then she began to walk in front and in circles around Sana, “Ain’t you a faultless one. Sitting atop your lofty jock seat. Defending the helpless, and standing up against your kind.” Nancy finally stopped in front of Sana and looked deep into the quarterback’s eyes. “Here you are trying to replace me while being someone you aren’t. You are much more pathetic than I anticipated.”

 

“Not everyone stays as rotten as you. And if that makes me a hypocrite, I’d gladly burn in a stake.” Sana hissed. “And I’ll bring you along with me.”

 

“Please,” Nancy laughed mockingly. “And risk tearing your team apart. Risk being unpopular. Come on.”

 

“So it was your plan all along.”

 

“Oh, me? No!” the cheerleader dramatically placed her hand over her heart, feigning offense. “I wouldn’t do such a horrible thing! That’s the basketball boys and your teammates!”

 

“Stop lying. You’re not fooling me.”

 

“But I already did. Remember that summer when you knelt down and practically begged me to stay?” Nancy let her venomous words drool out from her lips, tasting that satisfaction in her mouth. “And now you’re kneeling down again. To that thing you call a girlfriend. I must’ve really ruined you for you to go for someone like Dahyun. I don’t even know if I should be jealous.”

 

There is something in particular in what Nancy said that made her string snap. And surprisingly, it’s not because Nancy rubbed in that she begged for her to stay, or that she’s pretending to be someone that she’s not.

 

Dahyun is a nerd. That’s for sure. She may not be the most popular person in the batch but she’s caring. She’s kind. Dahyun keeps her grounded, and everything around her felt safe. For all intents and purposes, Dahyun has been doing an amazing job being a girlfriend — through the constant phone calls, no frills hang outs and binge watching, her selfless loyalty to her friends, and just the mere feeling of being on the receiving end of her genuine nurturing care. Dahyun’s sincere commitment to her was something that she never felt in the months that she dated the head cheerleader. And it was enough to make her realize where her allegiances lie.

 

Dahyun is a nerd, sure. But she is never a ‘thing’.

 

She is the president of the Atteridge Student Council. The Alpha Nerd. Her Number One Cheerleader. Her Unlikely Friend. Kim Dahyun is her god damn girlfriend.

 

“Must suck to see that you ex isn’t even affected. More so, to see your girlfriend’s friends run off like headless chickens.” Nancy sighed disappointingly at Sana’s lack of rebuttals.

 

“Hmm..” Sana mumbled, as if it was the only thing she could afford. She let out a soft sigh, and with it, all the emotions that were starting to pent up. Now is not the time to lash out, and as the captain of one of the most competitive sports teams in the city, Sana knew how to keep her focus in check.

 

Noticing that she had effectively shut Sana up, Nancy smirked and walked away. There was a satisfaction in making the quarterback look like a fool once more, but she didn’t seem to notice that there was a small smile on Sana’s lips.

 

“What did the bitch want?” Jihyo appeared beside her.

 

“To quell her insecurities.” Sana chuckled, and Jihyo was left with a confused frown. “And I’m gonna kill her with it. Ji, I’m gonna need your help..”

 

“What are you going to get yourself into this time? Please tell me you’re not gonna win her over.”

 

“No,” Sana scoffed, her face contorting like Jihyo just said the most disgusting thing. “I’m gonna win someone over but not that bitch. I need Dahyun back, and I need you to hold the team together with me while I’m at it.”

 

Jihyo nodded, then let a beat pass before speaking up.

 

“Disciplining the team for something like this will be bad for morale. You know that, right?”

 

“Yeah.” Sana shrugged.

 

“That’s good.” Jihyo agreed as she watched the crowd with Sana.

 

There is something annoying about the sight of the party. How the music began to play again. How people began drinking again, and how the fire was being fed once more. It’s as if the students who left aren’t worth worrying about.

 

What Momo said was true. These things never really bothered her back then, especially when she’s watching everything in a bubble of popularity. But Tzuyu was right as well. Not all things should stay the same. And maybe it’s time to see the world in Dahyun’s eyes.

 

“The players should remember this. If it’s on-season, their allegiances should only lie with me.” Sana stared at the two football girls who were implicated. It didn’t take too long before their eyes met Sana’s. They weren’t laughing anymore unlike earlier. No one would, especially when Jihyo go to you first. “They should all know that going with Nancy is going against me. Ang going against me is going against the team. We’re not gonna allow that now, are we?” Sana glanced at Jihyo and smirked.

 

“No, we are not.” Jihyo chuckled with her.

 

Sana was the last footballer to leave the beach that night. Ironically, the same party that was being thrown in their honor was the same one that her team ditched. Some players were confused. Some were obedient. There were also some who were visibly upset, but there is a price to pay when you go against the captain. Even if it risks the next weekend’s game.

  
 

///

  
 

For the first time in a long while, Sana walks alone from the parking lot. While the quarterback is welcomed by accepting hollers from the athletics, Dahyun had to endure the mumbling whispers swirling around her as she made her way to the DMZ. Jeongyeon was quicker in opening the door for her, and she was still insistent on her usual greeting.

 

“Attention, citizens!” she announced, addressing them in how the Parisians would’ve called each other back in 1789. “Captain on the bridge!”

 

Then, even if Jeongyeon managed to establish some appearance of normalcy, the day would be spent with Dahyun ignoring and avoiding Sana as much as she can.

 

It wouldn’t take Jihyo much to notice that Dahyun’s distance bothered Sana, especially when Sana would spend most of her lunch time just quietly glancing at Dahyun’s direction. During afternoon practices, Sana’s gaze would turn to the empty bleachers from time to time, looking for someone who would never show up. Momo would joke around like she used to but Sana would only afford a quick chuckle just to let her friends know that she was still there — even if her thoughts always drift to someone else entirely. There would be moments where she’d fool around with the bunch, but as soon as she checks her phone, she would fade into her quiet corner once more.

 

Habits are a part of Sana’s DNA as an athlete. And her favorite habits are those that doesn’t need discipline to accomplish. Like calling Dahyun almost every night and falling asleep to the sound of her soft voice. Hanging out with her on weekends just to watch some Netflix show while Dahyun plays with her hair. The habit of texting Dahyun every day. Their drives home with talks about school, football, their likes and dislikes. The feeling of Dahyun against her rib, her shoulder, and inside her arms. Talking really really close. Teasing her about kissing. And the soft feeling of Dahyun’s fingers against her face when Dahyun would just casually tuck Sana’s hair behind her ear, or when she’d pick off anything on the corner of Sana’s lips.

 

But now, the absence of these things reminded her of how much of her habits were built around this specific girl. Dahyun’s absence made her days feel lacking, with a part of Sana feeling empty and unsatisfied. On most nights, she would give her pillow a tight hug that she was keeping for her girlfriend then mutter “I’m sorry.” over and over, pretend that she’s somehow listening.

 

Then, she would find herself hating on Dahyun. Asking questions like “How could she be okay with us not being okay? How can she keep on hating me? Am I not important to her? How can she still laugh with Jeongyeon?” But after a while, when her justification would run a full circle and back to how everything came to this, Sana would find herself thinking “She was so disappointed. Fuck. I hope she’s doing okay. Fuck me twice if Nancy does something to her.”

 

Wait.

 

Her heart stops and her mind blanks out. Why is she even concerned for Dahyun? She’s just someone she’s using to get revenge on her ex. Dahyun is just a prop. An accomplice. She’s just someone who fills in her empty days with snacks, and shy laughters, soft punches, gentle touches, words of encouragement, grounding opinions, and sincere care for her.

 

Dahyun was just ‘a person’ when this whole charade started, but on how she single-handedly made Sana’s days excruciatingly empty through her absence proved how wrong Sana was.

 

There are new truths that had to be faced, and before she could even have the chance to realize it, she knew she was growing addicted to the habit that is Kim Dahyun.

 

~

 

Students whispering amongst themselves passed accusations that Dahyun is as cruel as her unyielding stoicism. It came mostly from reckless mouths trying to get themselves involved while making more enemies for the president.

 

But what they failed to realize is that Dahyun’s stoicism is the only thing that kept her pieces together, especially when she would always find her and her friends at the receiving end of cruel intentions. And it’s better to appear unaffected by Sana’s palpable sadness than cave in and make Sana feel that she could get away that easy.

 

Jeongyeon would’ve been super amused whenever Dahyun’s once sprightly mood switches to a quieter one when she passes Sana in the hallways. Or when Dahyun’s brows crease in annoyance whenever she chances upon Sana laughing with her girls. In meetings, there would be moments where she’d reply in silence when she’s actually expected to speak. Jeongyeon would whisper a stern “Dahyun.”, then the president would snap back into the moment.

 

“You okay, dude?” Jeongyeon whispered.

 

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.” Dahyun stammered a bit as she dismissed Jeongyeon’s question with a forced smile. “Can you send me the compiled minutes?”

 

“We already sent it like three minutes ago!” Jeongyeon whispered with her head bowed down, hoping that Dahyun got her subtle message. Then, before anyone could notice they’ve already lost Dahyun moments ago, Jeongyeon straightened herself up and cleared her throat, “Now, for our president’s last reminders.”

 

Jeongyeon kicked Dahyun’s feet from under the table, finally bringing Dahyun back as a citizen of Earth.

 

“Ah,” Dahyun bit her lip and winced. “Yeah. Uhm. School dance is coming up soon so we’ll start sharing updates on that next week.” Dahyun managed to recompose herself and end the meeting without further issues.

 

Although, for each passing day, it was getting more difficult for Dahyun to hide behind her resolve. Jeongyeon would always catch her checking her phone, fighting the urge to reply to Sana’s relentless messages. She read them with sad eyes. Not disgust, nor annoyance. Then, Dahyun would close her eyes for a bit, take a deep breath, then go back to whatever she was doing moments before.

 

If Sana and Dahyun fought for some lesser reason, Jeongyeon would’ve been super amused, especially on how Dahyun tried hard not to give in to her own fragility. Dahyun isn’t Sana girlfriend but she sure does look exactly like someone who just had a big fight with her girlfriend.

 

She can’t eat without being reminded of Sana. She can’t go back to her usual routines because she knows that there should be a Sana involved in at least one of those. Like calling her before sleeping, or making her breakfast, or post practice snacks. As the school’s president, Dahyun would have the answers to problems. But even with her extensive scholastic experience, she still can’t figure this out — “Why do I feel hurt when Sana didn’t catch me. She wasn’t supposed to because we were just playing around but why does it hurt so damn much?”

 

The thing is, Dahyun doesn’t want for Sana to beg, or pull a grand gesture to make her feel better. She doesn’t want Sana to buy her chocolates, or flowers, or whatever people give to their significant others. She doesn’t want Sana to say sorry just for the sake of it.

 

Dahyun just wants Sana to realize that her teammates were wrong, and that she should’ve stood up for what’s right, and not for what's convenient.

 

Dahyun just wants Sana to assure her that when she needs Sana the most, Sana would be there for her.

 

That’s what friends do for their friends. That’s what girlfriends do for their girlfriends.

  
 

///

  
 

If there’s one thing that Chaeyoung loved about being an outcast, it’s the fact that everyone barely notices her absence. She never showed up at school the Monday after the bonfire, and there was no knowing if she’ll ever show her face again.

 

But for those who were close to the epicenter of the things that shouldn’t have been, Chaeyoung’s absence was as loud as the silence it brought. For Dahyun, Jeongyeon, and the rest of the council (and their friends), it was a rude awakening that these things won’t go out quietly as much as they want it to be. For Sana and the rest of her friends in the athletics, it was a glaring reminder of their inadequacies. A reality that they were forced to confront now that they have grown closer to the people who tried to avoid the battering on the daily.

 

For the hours that stretched into days, Dahyun would find Tzuyu looking at her from afar. Her eyes were yearning for an answer that Dahyun couldn’t give. The president would just shake her head solemnly, and Tzuyu would already know that Chaeyoung won’t be showing herself that day. And even if she does, Tzuyu knew that Dahyun’s friend would try her best to avoid her.

 

Needless to say, Chem class was excruciatingly quiet. The fun bets during laboratory activities devolved into an awful diplomatic coexistence. Speaking is only reserved for sharing instructions or answering worksheet related questions. So when it felt like they’re turning into “Day 1 - Chaeyoung x Tzuyu”, Sana threatened Dahyun that she wouldn’t do the assigned tasks until Dahyun talks to her. She thought it was cute but she totally forgot that she’s not dating the head cheerleader anymore.

 

Dahyun just stared at her for a while then, after a wordless moment passed, Sana helplessly watched as Dahyun began to do work for two people. At that point, Sana didn’t have much of a choice but to surrender.

 

Jeongyeon winced at the sight of it. Winced at how Sana is so bad at fixing things.

 

“Really?” Jeongyeon whispered to Nayeon with a very disappointed look on her face. “Her best move is to annoy Dahyun and hope she’d just give in? Where did you even find this girl?”

 

”The hell, Jeongyeon. The same place where I found you.” Nayeon snarled in a hushed tone. “You’re of the same species.”

 

“Hey! I’m dumb but I’m not that dumb!” Jeongyeon reasoned, not really going for any form of vindication. Nayeon frowned, made annoyed grunts, then forced out an unamused smile. There was a long pause. “Okay, a bit but not that level.”

 

“I’m not really so sure about that.” Nayeon insisted.

 

“That’s not so very kosher of you.”

 

“My patience, Jeongyeon, is getting thin.” Nayeon retorts on Jeongyeon’s sudden Jewishness.

 

“Damn, fuck me twice, Nayeon. I didn’t ask your Patience to go on a fucking diet.”

 

“Do you want to die?” Nayeon raised her brow at Jeongyeon’s annoying snark. If this was any other day, she would’ve laughed. “At least she’s trying, okay?”

 

“Well!” Jeongyeon emphasized her next words, “She has to try harder than that!”

 

Nayeon sighed discreetly, then they both turned to the starcrossed ‘lovers’. They both helplessly watched as Sana reached over to Dahyun’s worksheet and drew a sad face on the corner of the page. Dahyun just stared at it, closed her eyes, then shook her head. Sana deflated, especially when Dahyun covered the doodle with strips of correction tape.

 

On Nayeon’s other side, Tzuyu wasn’t really doing any better. She’ll have a rather difficult time finishing the activities by herself since Chaeyoung is not around. But it felt like it’s the least of her problems, because looking at her now, her mind isn’t really in class. It was somewhere else. And it was only made apparent by her occasional glances to the empty chair in front of her followed by an almost palpable sigh.

 

The only semblance of diplomacy ironically came from the most unlikely people.

 

“Mr. White! It has been decided!” Jeongyeon announced all of a sudden. Her voice cut through the silence of the activity and now, everyone’s eyes were aimed at their table. “Starting today, I’m going to be partners with Chewy. Nayeon can be partners with my chair.”

 

“What?” Mr. White laughed together with the class.

 

“Switching partners with a chair won’t really change much as far as ‘use’ concerned.” Nayeon smirked and Jeongyeon hated how Nayeon managed to quickly bite back. “Jeongyeon ain’t much and besides, at least I can sit on a chair.”

 

“You can sit on me anytime, princess. All you have to do is ask.” Jeongyeon winked, making the whole class howl wildly. Nayeon will get her head for this but it’s worth the shot especially when she got to see Nayeon light up in the brightest shades of red.

 

“That’s quite enough, Miss Yoo.” Mr. White chuckled then took off his glasses. He pointed it back and forth between Nayeon and Tzuyu, and continued. “You three partner up since Miss Son is not around. Miss Chou, please make sure that your partners don’t kill each other.”

 

Before Tzuyu could say anything else, Jeongyeon had already moved her chair so their entire ‘group’, all three of them, could sit on one side, with Tzuyu sandwiched between them. Chewy actually braced herself this time, knowing full well the amount of expletives that Nayeon can spew in front of Jeongyeon. But she was only faced with a rather strange waltz.

 

They wrote their names on their respective worksheets at the same time and quickly checked the problem sets. Jeongyeon skipped the first two, went to the third to mark it, then skipped the next two then marked the one after those.

 

“Jeongyeon.” Nayeon said with her eyes still locked on her paper. She was also marking stuff. More specifically, the items that Jeongyeon didn’t tick on her worksheet. “Do the first two items. I’ll do the third and the sixth one.”

 

“I knew you’d say that.” Jeongyeon laughed like she was fucked.

 

“You’re good with the SPDF thing!” Nayeon argued, leaving Tzuyu stuck with the question: How does Nayeon even know the things Jeongyeon is good at?

 

Jeongyeon began with the sets without further complaints and it made Tzuyu wonder on when did they even agree on how to do things. Even if it appears that Nayeon and Jeongyeon can’t seem to exist together, they can somehow keep on finding ways to survive each other and do it all over again the next day.

 

If they can do it, why can’t everyone else? Tzuyu thought. Why can’t Sana and Dahyun work it out? Why can’t she and Chaeyoung?

 

“Oh shit!” Jeongyeon suddenly cackled out loud. Their entire table looked to where Jeongyeon was pointing at and saw Jeongyeon’s name on the space of what can technically be considered as Nayeon’s worksheet.

 

“Mr. White.” Jeongyeon said in hushed tones, pretending to call their teacher. “I’m changing partners.” Jeongyeon tried her best to speak between her breathless laughter. “I’m changing partners on the grounds of Nayeon being so fucking dumb right now!”

 

The whole table hid behind each other’s heads, bowed low, and covered their lips with their hands when they all tried to stifle their giggles. Jeongyeon, thinking that Nayeon’s Freudian slip isn’t enough insult for the day, reached over to her paper and doodled a heart.

 

Nayeon gritted her teeth and slapped Jeongyeon’s pen hand, making the band girl laugh a bit harder. While Nayeon dragged her correction tape over Jeongyeon’s name, Dahyun watched as the cheerleader left the heart doodle on her paper.

 

Sana used to do that stupid shit back then. Writing on sheets that weren’t hers. Dog doodles, hearts, or just about anything, really. Her works won’t be in comic books anytime soon but Dahyun admits that it’s a creative way to annoy her. At least, it was. Back then.

 

A soft chuckle escaped from her lips, and it was only then when Dahyun realized that she was staring down on her own worksheet. Specifically to the spot that she erased.

 

God. It felt so stupid, but she actually misses the girl who was sitting right beside her.

  
 

///

  
 

Sana didn’t like the idea of walking out of the field alone because it meant that she would have to pass by the cheer team without someone against her rib. Dahyun was that person. And that person is not here.

 

She could feel the mocking stares from Nancy’s side of the field, burning through her skin with their venomous laughter, and as much as she tried to avoid it, it was especially hard when they’re hanging out near the exits.

 

If she knew that she’s going to be this vulnerable, she wouldn’t have insisted for her friends to wait for her in the parking lot instead. She just toughened herself up, walked on even if it felt like a thousand eyes stabbing her chest, and even if this moment felt like forever, she made sure that she still looked dignified in the face of dejection.

 

And she would’ve made it in one piece. But when the sudden howling and cheering came from Nancy’s group, her reflex told her gaze to turn to that direction.

 

She never knew what they were yelling about, because the moment her eyes settled on her ex girlfriend, she was given the unwanted treat of seeing Nancy kiss someone else that was not her.

 

She looks away quicker than she looked up, and if that seemed like an admission of defeat, then she had no choice but to swallow it all up. It reminded her of her hubris, the days of juvenile pride where, in this jungle, being the apex predator meant having the best mate. At least, until everything turned on its head, and now, Nancy made Sana feel the awful truth that she is not who she thought she was. That she was replaceable. That she wasn’t as sought after. That she wasn’t particularly the biggest fish in the sea. She is just someone who got dumped for someone else.

 

“Still not over that?”

 

Sana looks forward and sees Mina standing right in front of her. A change of clothes and a pair of track shorts, her hair tied in a messy ponytail but she still doesn’t look like someone who just came from a practice. Sometimes, Sana thinks Momo is stupid to leave Mina as just friends.

 

“Of course I am.” Sana huffs as she tried to walk past the cheerleader.

 

It would’ve been hella convenient if Mina appeared earlier, but with Dahyun gone, Sana is convinced that she has lost the favor of the universe. And Universe now retaliates through Mina and her insatiable inquisitiveness.

 

“Then why did you look away?” Mina says, joining Sana’s pilgrimage to the parking lot and matching her pace.

 

“The fucking hell do you want me to do? Watch it? Take a video of it?”

 

“For starters, you could’ve acted that you weren’t bothered by it.”

 

“I am not bothered.” Sana almost growled, hating that it awfully sounded like she was convincing herself rather than Mina.

 

“Damn.” Mina chuckled, “I wonder what your current girlfriend would say about that?” Of course Mina was referring to the president.

 

“Look.” Sana turned to Mina for a quick second and stopped walking. “It’s not because I haven’t moved on, okay?” then she started walking again. “Besides, Dahyun wouldn’t say anything because in case you haven’t noticed, she’s not here.”

 

“So you were bothered.” Mina concludes, with Sana shutting the hell up.

 

The next few steps they took were wrapped in silence. Sana knew that there was no point in lying, because as far as her friends are concerned, Mina is the most perceptive. There is a level of convenience in being friends with her, and an inconvenience when you get betrayed by your own emotions. Mina catches on that as easily as reading a book.

 

They passed by a few people, all of them greeting the cheerleader and the team captain, because while they don’t belong to the most popular clique, Mina is still Mina, and Sana is still Sana. People wanna be them, or wanna be with them. Especially when you’re one of the school’s star athletes, or one of the richest kids this side of town.

 

And Sana would’ve been content with this level of influence. She would’ve been content with how everyone seemed to think that she’s the best thing that ever happened to this school. People of their age are lured by this promise of prestige and when Nancy broke up with her, Sana lost everything that came along with it.

 

“Watching them is like looking at all the things that I’ve lost. Including Dahyun.” Sana sighed. “Nancy will always make sure that I’d feel.. inadequate.”

 

“So, Dahyun is just someone you dated to show that you’ve won the break up? Never took you for the insecure type.”

 

“It’s not like that.” Sana raised a brow.

 

“Okay. So, Dahyun is just someone who makes you feel that you’re not completely inadequate?” Mina rephrased her question but it still didn’t sound too forgiving.

 

“You make it sound like I’m a shitty person.”

 

“You’re only shitty if what I’m saying is the truth.” Mina didn’t mince words. Years of being friends with the quarterback exposed Mina to the troubles of Sana’s own self-validation. “Tell me, how many times have you thought about Nancy whenever you’re with Dahyun?”

 

Sana’s silence gave Mina exactly the answer that she was looking for.

 

“If I were you, I’d focus on getting Dahyun back than making yourself look good in front of your ex.”

 

But that’s the thing — Sana is competitive. This is why she is the captain of the most competent team in the city. There’s no such thing as graciously accepting defeat, because losses are only redeemed by the vengeful triumph after. This is the reason why Dahyun is in her life in the first place. She was supposed to make Nancy feel like she’s still replaceable. That’s the whole idea of dating Dahyun. And Dahyun knew about that whole idea.

 

But their friends don’t need to know about that, especially when things are this messy. There’s only one thing to do right now and it’s to get Dahyun back.

  
 

///

  
 

It was unusual for Jeongyeon to play videogames on school nights (or afternoons), even if she told people repeatedly that it will be her entire retirement plan. It’s mostly because council meetings finish late, or they’d wait for the athletics people to finish practice. But this wasn’t any normal day. It's been almost a week since Chaeyoung’s absence, but unlike the rest of the school body, Jeongyeon and Dahyun got to see their best friend.

 

Huddles like these weren’t out of the ordinary. Or at least, until Dahyun and Sana decided to date. Then, the president’s afternoons and weekends quickly became Sana’s hours, and Dahyun felt bad when the thought of abandoning Chaeyoung loomed over her head.

 

They do it in Jeongyeon’s house. Or Dahyun’s. Depends on what they wanted to do, but Dahyun is okay with just watching her friends play their video games if that’s their main agenda. It’s fun seeing Chaeyoung do what she loves doing. Art, video games, joking around with them. It makes Dahyun think that things aren’t as bad as they are. Besides, while her two friends are busy trashtalking their opponents, they never let Dahyun feel that she was out of place through pockets of conversation when one of them is waiting to respawn (It’s Jeongyeon but she’ll always tell it’s deliberate).

 

It’s a good thing that Jeongyeon found this new online friend to play with. It gave them enough reason to do what they usually do in afternoons when being responsible students was not the top priority. Except Dahyun who had always been exemplary ever since she transferred to Atteridge.

 

In the late hours of the afternoon, after bags of chips, cans of sodas, and 271 confirmed kills combined (It’s Chaeyoung mostly but Jeongyeon will always tell it’s deliberate), when the day finally winds down. Dahyun neatly stacks the notes from Chaeyoung’s missed classes while the two focused their efforts in disassembling Chaeyoung’s console.

 

“Hey.” Chaeyoung calls Dahyun’s attention as she wound the HDMI cable around her hand. With Dahyun’s newly established patterns, it’s not hard to notice her disconnection from her phone, and going back to what happened in the bonfire, it’s also not hard to assume that Sana and Dahyun aren’t okay. “You haven’t talked to her yet?”

 

Jeongyeon watched the president force out a smile as she sunk deeper into the couch. There were no words. Only a deep sigh and Dahyun shaking her head in response.

 

“Why?” Chaeyoung asked.

 

“There’s nothing to talk about for now.” Dahyun shrugged, and it was obvious to Chaeyoung that Dahyun was just trying to keep it together. Whenever Sana is brought up, her smiles become forced, her mood becomes somber, and her answers become sparse.

 

“Are you gonna break up with her?”

 

It was a funny question not because Dahyun and Sana were never together, and that breaking up was never within their bill of rights. But what was even funnier was the quick moment where the question sounded so real.

 

Dahyun shakes her head. “Unless she stands by her decision that night, then..” she stopped to ponder. “Maybe.”

 

“But you got this plan going on. You should go talk to her.” Chaeyoung nodded solemnly, making Dahyun and Jeongyeon stare at her for a moment, until Dahyun looked down on the notes she was holding and forcing out a chuckle. She expected Chaeyoung to be the last person to tell her that. It almost sounded like Chaeyoung actually liked Sana for her just like how they liked Tzuyu for her.

 

“Chae?” Dahyun glanced up to Chaeyoung for a quick moment. “Do you believe Tzuyu has anything to do with this?”

 

“I don’t know.” Chaeyoung just shrugged. “And frankly, I don’t care.”

 

“What will you do if you see her again?”

 

“Nothing. That has always saved me. Kept me out of trouble.” there’s a noticeable conviction in Chaeyoung’s voice. A feeling of finality that didn’t settle well with Dahyun. “As far as I remember, this shit only happened when I started hanging out with her.”

 

Dahyun and Jeongyeon subtly exchanged glances at each other, noting Chaeyoung’s use of ‘I’ and ‘her’. Dahyun expected Chaeyoung to hate on everyone else, as such is a valid reaction, but she framed the entire thing like it was somehow her fault. Just like how she apologized to them in the car for ruining their night.

 

“And if she goes to you?” Dahyun pressed on.

 

“I can always walk away.”

 

“Don’t you think that’s too harsh if she doesn’t have anything to do with this?”

 

“She’s everybody’s favorite girl, Dahyun. I’m sure she’s gonna be fine.” It was now Chaeyoung’s turn to force out a dry laughter. “I bet she won’t even notice my absence.”

 

“Actually.” Jeongyen finally joins in, giving out a slight wince. Dahyun takes another deep sigh and just lets Jeongyeon weigh in on the matter. “She has been looking for you since the start of the week. She said you weren’t returning her calls or her messa —.”

 

“It’s better that way.” Chaeyoung spoke up before Jeongyeon even had the chance to finish. She didn’t even look at Jeongyeon. She just continued packing up her console while Jeongyeon pleaded to Dahyun with her eyes.

 

“If..” Dahyun paused and waited for Chaeyoung to do anything that would say that Dahyun has her attention. A beat passed, and Chaeyoung turned to Dahyun with raised brows. “If I talk to Sana, would you talk to Tzuyu?”

 

“Dahyun, I do not belong in that picture.” Chaeyoung replied a bit too quickly. It made her friends think that maybe, in the past few days, Chaeyoung has already decided on where to stand in this storm. “Tzuyu and I, we’re from different worlds, and I’m totally fine with that. If you wanna continue hanging out with Sana and her friends, that’s fine with me too. I just think that I don’t need to be chums with their lot. Because if we force this.. we force us, it may harm everyone else.”

 

“We don’t know that.” Dahyun tried to be hopeful.

 

“Yes. We do.” Chaeyoung smiled sadly as she assured her friends. “I’m fine. She’ll be fine. I am okay with this. We’ll make it through this.”

 

It is in moments like these when Dahyun just knows why she should keep up with the fight. Why she should never side with the convenient choice, especially when being right is not always the most inconvenient. Because not all people are as strong as Chaeyoung, and she’s not even sure on how long this resilience will last. For all they know, they just got lucky that Chaeyoung’s resolve hasn’t caved in yet. But that might not be the case the next day. Or the day after that. Dahyun doesn’t really know.

 

But what she does know is that she has to try. She needs to help Chaeyoung build more bridges than she could burn. That there are other people Chaeyoung can trust.

 

She just has to figure out how.

 

“Alright, then.” Dahyun nodded. “Alright.”

 

///

  
 

The silver clinked against white porcelain when Sana tossed her vegetables around unenthusiastically. Her mom can’t miss the lonely cadence because Sana has been awfully quiet for the past days.

 

“Are you okay, hon?” her mom breaks through her silence, watching how Sana was once again giving her phone an absent stare. “Sana.”

 

“Yeah?” Sana jerks up, and she felt small when she saw two pairs of eyes staring back at her. “I’m good. I just don’t feel like eating. I had post-training snacks.” she said, wincing inside that she had to lie. ‘Post practice Dahyun’ stopped days ago but maybe this could stop her parents from noticing that her thoughts were scattered all over the place.

 

“Dahyun has been taking good care of you, hasn’t she?” her mom smiled, quite satisfied but also triggering a stinging pang inside Sana’s chest. “Speaking of her, when is she coming over with her dad?”

 

“I’ll confirm after this weekend’s game.” Sana’s lie tasted bitter to the tongue, and it felt so wrong. She took a deep sigh which made her parents look at her once more, then Sana winced before speaking up. “Actually.. Uhh.. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t be able to confirm that with her anytime soon. We’re actually not okay as of the moment.”

 

There was a sad smile on Sana’s mom, the one that mom’s wear when they try to assure their kids that things are going to turn out just fine. Meanwhile, Sana’ dad just nodded and dabbed his napkin around his lips.

 

“Just as long as she doesn’t distract you from the game.” her dad said sternly. Then all of a sudden, the clinking of cutlery on Sana’s side of the table stopped. For some reason, the words didn’t sound right in Sana’s ears.

 

“Honey.” Sana’s mom turned to her husband when she noticed that her daughter was visibly upset.

 

“I’m just saying. Your daughter can’t be like this in the game. Dahyun should at least be considerate.” Mr. Minatozaki turned and pointed his fork at Sana. “She should be helping you focus, not distracting you with petty lover’s quarrel. The game’s this weekend and —.”

 

“Dad. That’s unfair.” Sana didn’t even give her dad a chance to finish his sentence. Fist clenched and brows furrowed, she let her stinging stare simmer between all of them. There’s something in that misplaced accusation that didn’t sit well with Sana. And it weighed differently when the words came from her dad’s mouth. “Dahyun has always been supportive all throughout the season. Dahyun drives me home everyday in case you haven’t noticed, especially when I’m too tired to do so. God! She even prepares post-practice snacks for me and you wouldn’t even see my ex do that kind of effort. She watched and cheered for me in every game and she would always check on me if I hurt myself!” her voice continued to increase in intensity. “She isn’t a distraction, dad! We had a big fight and it wasn’t even her fault!”

 

As an athlete who made a virtue out of ‘focus’, Sana wasn’t one to lose her temper. So when she did, it was more than enough to bring about a heavy silence between them.

 

“Why, honey? What happened?” Sana’s mom finally asked when her husband suddenly ran out of words to say.

 

“Her best friend got bullied at a party and..” Sana brushed her hair back with her fingers and took a long sigh. “And I just stood there and watched.”

 

“But that’s because we can’t afford to get you into trouble. You worked hard to be the captain of this team. You made the right choice. Things like these can sort themselves out.” Sana’s dad tried to reason out. “What was she expecting you to do?”

 

“So what if it was me who got attacked by bullies?” Sana’s shoulders sunk and she threw her hands in the air in surrender. “It’s okay for you to let them walk off so that they won’t get into trouble? Is that it? They worked hard for it, right?”

 

“Sana. That’s different. You know that’s not what I meant.”

 

“Then what exactly did you mean?” Sana frowned, completely annoyed with how her dad kept on digging his way out. Her parents were quiet at this point, with her mom giving her dad a disappointed glance. It awfully reminded her of Dahyun. Hell, looking at it now, she’s currently Dahyun in this situation.

 

It didn’t take long before her father’s convictions dispersed into invalidity. There were just no words to challenge Sana’s frustrations because Sana was right. Which meant Dahyun was right. And Sana hated herself for taking this long to realize that.

 

“You know what?” Sana’s chair groaned awfully loud against the floor as she pushed herself off it. “I’m just gonna head out and walk for a while. I don’t feel like eating.”

 

“Sana.” Sana’s mom almost pleaded as she watched her daughter storm out from the dining area.

 

It sucked that she had to hear it from her dad. It sucked that she’s having a shitty day and can’t tell Dahyun about it. It sucked that even if Dahyun is just uphill, she felt so far away.

 

At the last moment, Sana turned to her parents — eyes closed and a balled fist levelled to the side of her head. She clenched her hand for a second, hoping that she could crumple her own frustrations in the process. Then, after she emptied her lungs, she opened her eyes and stared into her dad’s.

 

“Dahyun stood up for her friend and they both got treated like a plague. Meanwhile, I get to walk around school and still get to be treated like it was I who did the right thing.” Sana gritted her teeth at the thought of it. “Dahyun expected me to act how I should’ve as her girlfriend, and I feel so dumb because I failed her.”

 

The winds felt colder this time of year and it might be the reason why Sana’s the only one walking in their neighborhood. Dahyun would’ve liked this kind of weather, Sana thought, because she gets to pick which of Sana’s jacket to steal for the day. The mere thought of her made Sana smile, but it also made her pout almost at the same time.

 

A few more steps away from their house and Sana threw her hood over her head. Then, she fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed — but it’s not Dahyun this time.

 

“Jihyo, where are you?” Sana said when her friend picked up.

 

“Actually, I’m on my way to your place. With Jeongyeon and Nayeon.”

 

“Huh.” Sana forced out a chuckle. What a serendipitous coincidence, she thought. “That’s convenient. Pick me up.”

 

~

 

With years living alone with Dahyun, Mr. Kim learned to be more perceptive of Dahyun’s behavior. He always believed that her wife was better at it, especially when she sees through Dahyun’s non-verbals. He took notes, though. Watched and remembered how Dahyun acted in her bad days. Bit quieter. Bit busier — reading two subjects at the same time so she can cloud her attention. There’s also the shorter answers. One word, grunts, nods, a small discussion, then Dahyun would retreat to a spot in their house — specifically the living room.

 

He stared at Dahyun for a moment. She was curled up on the corner of the couch with a book on maths and another book for social science. Her phone would light up from time to time, but she would just glance at it before going back to whatever she was working on.

 

“You wanna talk about it?” Her dad took a seat on the opposite side of the couch, waiting for Dahyun to give some sort of response. “Come on.”

 

Dahyun glanced at her dad. She felt a bit guilty that the older man had this concerned look in his eyes, which brought her back to the last important conversation they had on this couch. Let me be your dad.

 

“Was it that obvious?” Dahyun sighed, but still managed to smile.

 

“Nah, I just took a guess.” he chuckled, crow’s feet beside his eyes crumpling. “Do I get a prize for that?”

 

“Give me your hand and I’ll give you a star.”

 

They both laughed at Dahyun’s snark, but what’s funnier was the fact that Dahyun had a gold metallic marker opened and ready.

 

“Dahyun, you’re a nerd. I’m a nerd. And you make nerds look bad.” he gave his hand anyway and just let her daughter draw a small star on the back of his hand.

 

“Appa, my girlfriend is the school team’s quarterback. So, if anything, I make nerds look good.” Dahyun slow-nodded in smug satisfaction, quite impressed with herself and to the supposed crowning glory of her nerd life.

 

“Touche.” he laughed then spent the next few moments admiring the mark on his hand. “So, what did you and Sana fight about?”

 

Dahyun paused, her eyes squinting when she looked at her dad. She didn’t know whether to be impressed with her dad’s guessing skills or maybe the days of hiding her feelings at school made it more difficult for her to hide it from her dad.

 

“How did you even know?” she chuckled.

 

“Dahyun, you can hide things from me all you want but you can’t hide things from yourself. You had that look your mother had when we fought.” her dad shrugged. The honesty in his voice assured Dahyun that what she’s feeling is valid, even if her dad doesn’t know that Dahyun and Sana isn’t really a couple as far as the romantic aspect is involved — which got Dahyun thinking, did she really give off a scorned lover vibe? It was an idea worth visiting but Dahyun shrugged it off altogether.

 

“Chaeyoung was bullied at school.” Dahyun began, “And I had to deal with the school administration, so that’s one thing.”

 

“What did they say?”

 

“Take a wild guess. You’re good at it today.” Dahyun challenged.

 

“That they can’t do anything because it happened outside school,” he sighed. With years working as an academe, her dad is not a stranger to these kinds of things. He didn’t want to get the question right but when Dahyun laughed and took off the cap of her gold marker, he couldn't help but feel a bit deflated.

 

“Care for another star?” Dahyun smiled still, despite being bungled with the administration’s complacency. She then proceeded to draw two more stars, one for each of the guesses he made correctly.

 

“Can’t wait to tell your mom about the stars I got. Maybe tell her that I’m getting better at this parenting thing.” he boasted while staring down at the three stars on the back of his hand. Then, when a beat passed and the small reprieve from laughters subsided, he continued. “That’s an uphill battle. Realistically speaking, the best that you can do right now is be with Chaeyoung and get her parents involved.”

 

“She wouldn’t want that. Believe me. I tried.” Dahyun pressed the soles of her palms against her eyes making her dad think she received that suggestion far too many times.

 

“Understandable. So what are you and Jeongyeon going to do about it?”

 

“Chaeyoung’s fine for now.” Dahyun assured as she rubbed the back of her neck. ”She’s playing games with Jeongyeon again. I think she’s gonna go to school tomorrow.”

 

“That’s good. But, something’s bothering you still.”

 

“Yeah.” Dahyun nodded then became silent altogether. It didn’t take long for her dad to piece things together. Dahyun comes in earlier than usual — with ‘usual’ being ‘coming in post practice hours’. Sana didn’t drive her home for the past days. And while Dahyun still calls Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung, he has yet to hear her daughter say “I’ll see you tomorrow. I luf you.”

 

Sana was out of the picture and Mr. Kim has a feeling that it’s all because of this.

 

“So..” he cleared his throat “What was Sana’s involvement? I reckon this is the thing that you fought about?”

 

Dahyun nods quietly. The sudden pensiveness was more than enough to tell him that his suspicions were correct. Her brows furrowed, contemplating, maybe trying to find the right words in Sana’s defense.

 

“The night when Chaeyoung got bullied,” Dahyun explained. “Sana’s teammates were involved. Football girls.” then she glanced at her dad to see if he was still following. “I asked her to do something about it but she tried to defend them instead.”

 

“Oh.” was the only reply he could afford.

 

“I just..” Dahyun let out an exasperated chuckle as she juggled her thoughts into coherence. “I just.. I can’t get around the idea that my girlfriend defended my best friend’s bullies. It’s not even a girlfriend issue. It’s common decency.”

 

“Hmm.” her dad nodded in agreement. “And you haven’t talked since then?”

 

“She’ll just say sorry thinking that it will make things go away. I don’t want her apologizing without meaning it. I’ll talk to her only if she confronts this problem with her team. If the administration doesn’t want to get involved, then the student leaders should. Team captains included.” There was an unmistakable conviction in Dahyun’s voice. And while other people consider her ideals as a youth-fuelled brand of naivety, her dad can’t help but feel a bit of accomplishment.

 

“You know.” he chuckled, reaching out to Dahyun’s dirty blonde hair and ruffled it. Ticklish locks brushed against her skin, and Dahyun’s once serious facade changed into an annoyed smile. “You kept on telling me that people only voted for you because they had no other choice. I say, you were the only choice because you are the best choice. But hey, tell Sana what you want from her. You need to confront this issue together. Not only because you’re each other’s significant others but because the both of you are in the perfect position to influence your own people. You with the students, and her with the athletes. No one is beyond redemption and you need to learn this from each other.”

 

Dahyun was quiet for a moment, her eyes aimed but not looking at something in particular. It was lost in thought. In the truth of her dad’s words. While she did a great job walling herself up in a fortress of silent treatment, she forgot that this problem won’t go away if they skipped the discussion entirely. Sana might be just as surprised, confused, and disappointed. And being exposed to this kind of dilemma for the first time forced her to react quickly, but not wisely.

 

“Yeah.” Dahyun just nodded.

 

“You’re a team. The two of you. This is the perfect time that you stick together.” then Dahyun felt a firm grip squeezing her shoulder, then letting go. Three taps followed, maybe for a job well done or a consolation prize, Dahyun doesn’t know, but she took it anyway. “Okay, champ?”

 

“Okay.” she nodded obediently and full of gratitude.

 

“Besides, your high school life’s too short. Don’t spend too much time fighting about things you can talk about.”

 

There was a quick jolt of realization when she allowed her dad’s words to swirl inside her head. But before she could even react to the thought of her fleeting high school life, Dahyun felt the couch adjust as a heavier weight was lifted on the other side. She watched her dad walk in front of her, making his way towards the dining area. Then, as he was about to leave Dahyun’s ear shot, her daughter speaks up in a soft shy voice.

 

“Thanks, appa.”

 

“No, thank you for the stars.” he raised his closed fist to brag his unprecedented achievement of receiving three gold stars in one night. Dahyun laughed and watched her dad walk farther away from her. It was quiet for a quick moment, but right after disappearing into the kitchen, her dad poked his head out and smiled. “I’ll get you your study snacks.”

 

~

 

Chaeyoung winced at the sound of the door when it clicked louder than she would’ve wanted. It wasn’t a new thing for her parents seeing their daughter come in late, given that she’s part of the student council, but the past few nights would’ve been a different story if only Chaeyoung’s parents knew what was happening to their daughter. To them, she’s just a student who leaves in the morning, probably spends the whole day in school, and hopefully someone who has a good set of friends to hang out with. To Chaeyoung, it’s another skirmish dodged and forgotten.

 

The school hasn’t called yet, and the ruse is still running. Chaeyoung just prays that she doesn’t get caught tonight.

 

“You’re home late.” A head peeks out from the living area, then pops back in when Chaeyoung walked in. Her mom had her scrubs on, which is unusual for a dayshift nurse like her. She watched her mom fasten her watch with traces of urgency in everything she’s doing. It made her look down on her hands too, only to quickly hide them behind her back.

 

“Sorry.” Chaeyoung mumbled while discreetly pulling the sleeves of her jacket to cover the traces of paint on the back of her hand.

 

“That’s okay. You out with Dahyun and Jeongyeon?” her mom asked, bunching her hair into a ponytail.

 

“Uh.. yeah.” Chaeyoung answered, her voice being almost inaudible in its hesitation.

 

“Alright. Dahyun got you guys really busy. But that’s a good item in your credentials for college.” her mom smiled, quite proudly, making Chaeyoung’s insides turn into ugly knots. “How’s school?”

 

“It’s fine.” then, even uglier and tighter.

 

“That’s good.”

 

“You took another shift?” Chaeyoung asked.

 

“Yeah.” her mom said in a prolonged exhale. There was a sad smile on her face, hoping that her daughter would somehow understand why she has to do what she needed to do. “I’m sorry sweetie. It’s just that, in a few months you’ll be going to college. Every penny will help.”

 

Chaeyoung feels warm skin against her cheek. A thumb rubbing the spot just below her eye. It is during these small moments that Chaeyoung feels loved. That for someone, she mattered. Her parents had her at a very young age, but they never made her feel like she was a mistake. And while their dreams were permanently placed on hold when she came in, they invested every penny they have to make sure Chaeyoung gets the best shot at life.

 

But on nights where her parents would sit down in front of the TV, thinking that their daughter was already asleep, Chaeyoung would quietly make her way towards them and listen to their own lost dreams, and how it was somehow justified when Chaeyoung came along.

 

“Mom, if..” Chaeyoung croaked, and her mom knew exactly what her daughter was about to say.

 

“No, Chaeyoung. You’re going to college. That’s final. Okay?” the hand cupping Chaeyoung’s cheek became firm but gentle. “Okay?”

 

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung nodded obediently.

 

It would’ve been easier for Chaeyoung to just quit school altogether and stay away from the people who’re making her life miserable, but she can’t afford that. Her parents can’t afford that. So as much as she wanted to just run away from everything awful that is high school, it’s just not the reality that she’s living in.

 

Her shoulders were heavy with the weight of her dreams and her parents’ dreams for her. And even if tomorrow is much worse than what happened to the bonfire, she has to suck it up because being strong is the only choice she has. In fact, it’s the only choice that she will ever have.

 

“You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna be okay.” Her mom’s words were warm, just like her touch. Chaeyoung leans to it one final time before her mom breaks off to get her bag. “Your dad is coming home late. There’s food in the fridge for you to heat up, okay? Be sure to eat before going to bed. I’ll be back tomorrow morning before you go to school.”

 

“Okay.” Chaeyoung folds her arms and clamps her hands under her armpits. “Message me when you get to work.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Her mom smiled then the next thing Chaeyoung heard was her mom’s old car pulling out the driveway. With the tone of the gentle crackling of the gravel, Chaeyoung fishes her phone out and reads two messages asking the same question.

 

**[Dahyun]:**

Are you coming to school tomorrow? We miss yooouuu!!

 

**[Tzuyu]:**

Hey. I’m sorry to bother you but are you coming to school tomorrow?

 

Chaeyoung tossed her bag onto the couch and walked towards the fridge. Second level. Microwavable tub with the saran wrap. Enough for one — just like all the days when her mom had to work extra shifts.

 

She popped it into the microwave and watched as the digital timer counted down. It said fifty seconds. That’s more than enough time to reply to one message.

 

**[Chaeyoung]:**

Yes, Ms President. I’m going. Council meeting in the morning?

Let’s talk in the group chat!

 

On the other side of the line, Tzuyu just sees the notification that her message was read.

  
 

~

  
 

Jeongyeon took them to a fenced open lot just outside her neighborhood where the late night food trucks are parked. A few chairs, the usual crowds, and the view that overlooks the suburbs around Atteridge — it seemed like a good place to castrate Sana once and for all.

 

Sana would’ve preferred their usual diner meetings but she thought this place is interesting in its own way. Especially how Nayeon seemed to know her way around the trucks way too comfortably. From a distance, they’d watch Nayeon point to what she wants and Jeongyeon follows her directions with her eyes. Attentive, if anything. Then, after a moment, Nayeon would begin to slap Jeongyeon’s shoulder, her face contorted in annoyance. It would tell Jihyo and Sana that the universe is once again working just like it’s supposed to be.

 

Sana was quiet for the whole time that she was left alone with Jihyo. The sight of Nayeon and Jeongyeon awfully reminded her of Dahyun, and it was taking everything in her person to stop herself from calling the president.

 

“I’ve been thinking.” Jihyo finally breaks through Sana’s thoughts. “If Jeongyeon was anyone else, she would’ve been dead by now.”

 

“True.”

 

“Didn’t know the two of them were friends.”

 

“None of us did.” Sana was unusually scarce with words. Although Jihyo was onto something interesting, Sana can’t bring herself to participate in the conversation. She just watched as Nayeon stomped her feet about in a fit while Jeongyeon laughed at her. She would’ve died, but for some ungodly miracle, she didn’t.

 

It didn’t take too long before Jeongyeon and Nayeon reunited with their friends. They checked on how everyone was doing after the events of the bonfire, then talked about the past days at school. Sana was still quiet, which warranted her Jeongyeon’s attention. And that’s saying something given that Jeongyeon has Nayeon and a bucket of fries in front of her.

 

“When are you going to talk to Dahyun?” Jeongyeon said right before plopping two pieces of fries in her mouth. Sana frowned at the band girl, more specifically, at her words.

 

“You fucking kidding me?” Sana scoffed.

 

“Sana.” Jihyo weighed her hand on Sana’s shoulder, just in case.

 

“What kind of question is that?” the quarterback continued to blow off. “I’ve tried talking to your friend, okay? She’s just shrugging me off every damn time, then you’re going to ask me that question? You can check how many times I tried calling her! How many messages I left her! How many times I made myself look so damn pathetic.”

 

“I’m not your enemy here, Sana.” Jeongyeon calmly takes a sip from her soda. “And I know that you know, that making you look pathetic is not Dahyun’s intention.” She took three sticks of fries and swiped it into the small cup containing some kind of mix of mustard and ketchup.

 

“Instead of hanging out here with us, why don’t you talk sense into her?” Sana pressed on, contributing to Jeongyeon’s apparent but slowly simmering annoyance.

 

“And tell her what, exactly?” Jeongyeon challenged after munching on the fries. She then pinched on the table napkin to get rid of the grease, all the while remaining calm despite Sana’s increasing volume. “What is this sense that I should talk into Dahyun?”

 

Sana stayed silent just as Jeongyeon had expected. Just as Jeongyeon hoped the quarterback would do. Because if Sana still tried to play victim and pass blame even after Jeongyeon’s questions, the band girl would’ve been compelled to tell Dahyun that Sana is beyond redemption.

 

Sana’s silence meant that she was thinking. That the words are seeping in. And that’s good enough for Jeongyeon for now.

 

“Have you done something to make your teammates know that you do not condone this kind of behavior? Or they’re still walking around campus thinking they fucking own the place?” Jeongyeon continued. “That’s the only thing that Dahyun wants from you. You have to show her that you actually care.”

 

Sana sunk deeper into her chair and tilted her chin up as if the sky was holding some answers. As much as she tried to deny herself, this fight with Dahyun has been eating her up in ways that annoyed her.

 

She shouldn’t feel this way. This should all be easy. She shouldn’t be missing Dahyun so damn much, and the guilt was tearing her apart. When Jeongyeon noticed how Sana ran out of things to say, she clasped her hands together, leaned forward and rested her chin on her intertwined fingers.

 

“Sana, I’ve been friends with her ever since she transferred here in Atteridge. If there’s one thing she values the most, it’s trust and loyalty. You have to prove, not say,” Jeongyeon emphasized that bit before continuing, “that she can trust you, because you can always count on her.”

 

Sana looked down on the table in silence. If her head wasn’t too cluttered right now, the fries dripping with gooey cheese would’ve been destroyed in seconds. But the appetite just wasn’t there. She wanted something else, and Sana was trapped in this looping question about Dahyun’s effect on her.

 

“Dude. Can I call you dude? You’re my dude now, right?” Jeongyeon babbled.

 

“Yoo Jeongyeon.” Nayeon growls sternly, quickly putting Jeongyeon back in line.

 

“Dude.” the band girl begins again, finally settling on her new found privilege of being Sana’s dude. “It’s not even a question of what would you do as Dahyun’s girlfriend. It’s a matter of what would a decent person do in that kind of situation. What a decent captain would do. She’s the student council president. You should’ve expected her to act the part. Dahyun doesn’t need your apology. At least not after you show her your commitment. And before anyone else here decides to paint her in a bad light, Dahyun is not okay. She can’t even function well in our meetings. Come on. She just wanted Sana to be the person she could count on, then it turns out she’s not.”

 

“I’m right here, Jeongyeon.” Sana mumbled jokingly, making the rest of them laugh.

 

“I’m on your team here, captain.” Jeongyeon said as she watched Nayeon’s hand invade the privacy of her fries. “I mean, it’d be perfect if Nayeon isn’t here stealing my fries, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

 

“Shut up, Yoo.” then Nayeon eats them anyways.

 

“How about Chaeyoung and Tzuyu?” Sana said after the short giggles subsided.

 

“Ha.” Jeongyeon’s smile turned into a sad one when she looked at Sana. “Well. That will take an awful lot of time. Maybe longer if we don’t fix you guys.” then she just slid the condiments cup just a bit closer to Nayeon.

 

“That bad, huh?”

 

“You saw what happened in the bonfire.” The change in Jeongyeon’s tone was hard to miss, and suddenly, the mood isn’t so light anymore. “Chaeyoung’s mistrust was not misguided. Especially when she had to endure that treatment more times than we’ll ever do. Combined. In a single lifetime. Maybe two.”

 

Sana nodded in silence. She has never been exposed to the nerdy side of school, so seeing how it affected almost every one of them in just one night forced her to ponder about this reality. She and her friends never had this kind of problem before, and it just goes to show when Momo reacted the way she did.

 

It’s just so easy to go back to the privilege that came with their popularity. But doing so means that she needs to let go of Dahyun. And letting go of Dahyun means getting served by Nancy.

 

“So, they’re back to square one?” Sana mumbled.

 

“Dude.” Jeongyeon just sighed. “If there’s a square negative five, they’re probably in that general area right now. Let’s focus on you and Dahyun first. In the meantime, Nayeon.” she turned to the cheerleader that was still stealing her fries (but she’s totally okay with that). “Tell Chewy not to press on Chaeyoung for a while.”

  
 

///

  
 

As the new school day rolls in, the hallways were once again filled with students and the gossip they brought with them. The people from the athletics, especially the members of the basketball team and the cheer team, strutted around, parting the crowds like the Red Sea. People look at them in either fear, envy, or adoration. Depends on which clique you belong to.

 

But one person wasn’t present in the general areas of the school. A jacket, maybe three sizes up, with the hood pulled over her head, Chaeyoung didn’t really care if people could only see only half of her face. She navigated the school through halls that are less beaten. It’s better this way, she thought. The less they see, the less they know.

 

It was just a bit harder during class when she’s required to take off anything that protected her face, which basically meant anything-that-could-protect-herself. Hidden glances are thrown in her direction once they realize it was the ‘Fish Girl’ sharing a class with them. Then, it’s followed by hushed whispers and quick giggles. And even if this ‘welcoming’ treatment was already expected, she knew she can’t make herself strong enough to endure it.

 

A trickling river can carve a rock, as they said. Much like how these little things can chip off her armor.

 

So, for most of the day and when she doesn’t have a class, she just stayed in her spot in the council room while everyone else lived their normal days. She had to hide to ensure her own self preservation. Because even if she never had scars to show on her skin, the wounds that she carry run deep under her shell.

 

And when you carry this kind of damage, you’d just wish that there’s a scientifically proven way to become invisible. The only consolation in self exile are the people who made her feel like she’s not a piece of trash. Minjoo who shared some snacks with her, along with some stories of what happened in the past few days. Hyewon who played mobile games with her in her free time. Chaeryeong, her reliable underling, who spoke to her with respect. And her best friends, who skipped the cafeteria in favor of eating lunch in the council room. Jieun was there, too. Just like always. Basking them with the exciting honor of just being, well.. quiet.

 

Contrary to the expectations of a regular high school student, Chaeyoung was relieved that her first day back was uneventful. Besides the pocket of people she knew was whispering behind her back, she felt her confidence dialing up a bit when her council friends talked to her as how they’ve always did back then. No one was treating her like a puppy who got rolled over by a truck. No one was walking on eggshells. No one treated her like she needed pity.

 

Soon enough, the final bell rings and everyone dispersed into their usual post school routines. But Chaeyoung didn’t rush to her locker just yet. This hour meant that the hallways are filled with eyes, loose lips, and people who made things difficult for other people. Instead, she stayed inside the council office for about twenty minutes before making sure that everyone cleared the hallways.

 

“Sorry, Dahyun.” Chaeyoung stood up when the council finally convened. “You can start without me. I’m just gonna head for the lockers.”

 

“You’re supposed to take the minutes! Miss President, she’s about to escape her duties!” Jeongyeon protested. Chaeyoung didn’t say anything. She only offered her hand to shake, with Jeongyeon actually taking it. “What the fucking hell is this?” she asked as Chaeyoung slowly shook her hand.

 

“Congratulations, Jeongyeon. You have just been promoted.”

 

“Chae!” Jeongyeon quickly pulled her hand away from the vile treachery.

 

“That’s enough.” Dahyun laughed. “Chaeyoung, be quick. Jeongyeon, you can take the minutes of the first parts. Minjoo, let’s proceed. Call the meeting to order.”

 

Minjoo, always upstanding in her tone and demeanor, starts the roll call, while Chaeyoung closed the door gently behind her. There was a small smile on her face when she felt the hint of normalcy, but it quickly faded when she found herself standing in the middle of a desolate hallway.

 

The emptiness should’ve brought her some peace. But deep inside her, it felt like running through the dark hallway of your house when you wake up to pee at 3AM. There’s no knowing if something’s watching — waiting for the right time to pounce. And at this point, a ghost is better than someone from the athletics pouring a can of soda on her head.

 

With her head bowed low, she puts on her hood and quickly walks to her locker, hoping that nobody would pay attention. There were pockets of small groups and other people who have clubs walking around, but this ‘normal’ caste of people never inflicted pain. Most of them are just bystanders, and while it is destructive in its own right, they were basically harmless if left to their own devices. Which, fortunately, they are.

 

She quickly switches her notes from inside her locker, following a mental rehearsal just a few moments ago of what she should do to make sure that she spends the least amount of time here as possible. The shorter time she spends out, the chances of encountering the people from the athletics significantly diminishes. It’s a twisted survival game in it’s own way. Only this time, the stakes are as real as the pain that she’s trying to avoid.

 

But what she never took into consideration was another person’s sheer insistence to see her. Totally forgetting that Jeongyeon, the current Vice President for Minutes-Taking, was still in talking terms with another vice leader — the one from cheering, to be exact.

 

“Hi, Chae.” the soft mellow voice came from behind her. It made Chaeyoung jerk up a bit, almost spitting out her clenched heart, but she was quick to regain her composure.

 

“H.. h.. Hey.” Chaeyoung stammered. Maybe she’s not so quick to regain her composure afterall. She glanced a bit over her shoulder but not fully. Then, she continued doing whatever she was doing in her locker — swapping notes and all, as if the girl behind her didn’t exist. “Anything I could help you with?”

 

The question awfully sounded like Chaeyoung was putting up walls Tzuyu thought she’d already breached.

 

“I just like to know how you were doing.” Tzuyu said, deflated when she noticed the nonchalance in Chaeyoung’s voice. Chaeyoung has prepared herself to not care — or unbothered, but damn, it doesn’t really feel right.

 

“I’m fine.” Chaeyoung managed to mumble.

 

“That’s good.”

 

I’m fine. That’s good. The words were scarce. The tones were awfully bland and diplomatic. It almost felt like they were back to where they started — in that one hostile day of Chemistry. And Tzuyu felt like she was going to be sick. It was a reality that she just can’t accept, knowing full well what they have been through together and how they worked it out.

 

Tzuyu can’t deny that this has something to do with the unwritten playground rules. She just doesn’t want to say who or what to blame, in fears that it might come circling back to her and how she indirectly contributed to how things were.

 

In the silence, she speaks up.

 

“I’m.. I.. I didn’t do it.” Tzuyu didn’t know why, but she felt the need to absolve herself from all of this. Maybe to save whatever’s left of them.

 

“Okay.” Chaeyoung nodded solemnly, and it was enough to tell Tzuyu that she has no intention to hear her out. “If there’s nothing else, can I get my things? Running late for our meeting.”

 

“Chae.. Why are you pushing me away?” Tzuyu almost pleaded, and it sucks because it was not her fault. “I told you. I wasn’t part of it. I was doing shit for the cheer team then I drove to the beach as soon as you looked for me! I don’t have anything to do with this!”

 

“Whether you were a part of it or not, it doesn’t matter. They can’t see us together.” Chaeyoung said, making Tzuyu’s heart clench in the sureness and finality of Chaeyoung’s words.

 

“Wait.. Why not?” Tzuyu’s voice almost croaked.

 

“You know what happens when they do.” Chaeyoung finally turns to the cheerleader, and Tzuyu was not prepared to look into Chaeyoung exhausted eyes.

 

“They never saw us together! Chae, please.”

 

“Then how did they know who’s name to put on the note to lure me out?”

 

“It wasn’t me!” Tzuyu reached for Chaeyoung’s wrist and grabbed it gently.

 

“It doesn’t matter!” Chaeyoung’s voice suddenly thundered. Then, she quickly looked around to see if anyone was alarmed, then her voice became softer and a bit sadder as she repeated herself, “It doesn’t matter.”

 

Tzuyu can’t help but feel a bit helpless when she felt Chaeyoung grappling away from her touch.

 

“You’re being unfair. I wasn’t part of that.” Tzuyu tried one last time, her eyes beginning to sting from the threat of tears. “You’re not even giving me a chance.”

 

“Chewy — Tzuyu.” Chaeyoung corrects herself, and it sucks because Chewy became Tzuyu once more as they continued their regression to square negative five. She tilted her head back to hold away the tears, then mustered her strength to look at Tzuyu straight in the eye.

 

“Do you know how it feels like to be on the receiving end of that kind of hate?” Chaeyoung began. “The one that’s unreasonable and unnecessary? The kind of hate that will make you look over your shoulder because you won’t know if it’s a can of soda, or used mop water, or both? When you had to eat in the AV room when your friends aren’t around because you’ll walk out of the cafeteria with fries in your pockets and milk on your hair? And that’s a good day. Because on a normal day, you don’t eat at all. Unless you want to eat spit that comes along with your lunch. And to tell you, the spit sauce isn’t on the side like the dressings in your salads.

 

“And not to mention the days where I literally had to turn the lights off in the AV room. Like it would somehow make me invisible. Forcing myself to believe that if they don’t see me, maybe they won’t bother me. And I haven’t even told you about how I needed to lie in front of my parents that I’m alright. That school was okay. That everything is going as planned, even if everyday seems like going to war with me and everyone else. I had to lie because they’re relying on me and I can’t fuck up school so now I don’t have a fucking choice.

 

“In my freshman year, they hauled me into a forest. Remember the place where your car broke down? Yeah. They threw me in there and I had to walk all the way back to Haseul’s garage in the middle of the night. Alone. It was just a prank, they said. No need to overreact, they said. Since sophomore year, I had to bring photocopies of my books because on weekends, they’d throw in soda bombs in my locker. Do you know how expensive books are? Of course you don’t. You’re rich. I’m not.

 

“To survive junior year, I had to make myself uninteresting. Walking in shadows. Sitting at the back. Withdrawing from things I loved doing. Just so Dahyun and Jeongyeon’s lives wouldn’t revolve around protecting me and hiding with me. Do you even know how shitty that feels when you make things unfun for your best friends?

 

“Has it ever occurred to you why you can’t find me on social media? Why you never see me anywhere else other than school? Because the same people — your people — will make sure they get me in any way and in any place they could. Because your people,” Chaeyoung emphasizes “Your people are so good at making us ‘losers’ I feel bad about ourselves when all we ever did was to god damn exist.

 

“We are just existing, Tzuyu. And existing this close to you can be the end of me. I wish I was exagerating, but holy fuck, I’m not.”

 

“I just wanted to let you feel that not all of us are like that.” Tzuyu tried her best to convince Chaeyoung. “You’re being unfair when you put everyone else in your construct.”

 

“And you are being unfair for asking me to live in a dream that would kill me the moment I wake up.”

 

“We can change that!”

 

“How?” Chaeyoung let out a watery laugh. “You just watched when they wrecked Haseul’s scooter back then.” Chaeyoung’s voice mellows down, because she was just so beat up. “I just want to pass senior year quietly. That’s everything I can afford. So can you just leave me alone?”

 

“So we can’t even be friends now?”

 

“It’s better this way.”

 

“Chae..”

 

“I have to go.” Chaeyoung hugged her things close to her chest and slammed her locker door shut while Tzuyu helplessly watched her walk away.

 

Tzuyu found no words. Of all the times that she needed to speak up, she found no words. But deep down, she knew the reason why her throat got all clogged up. Chaeyoung was right — she never did help. She never intervened. Because it was safe to just watch. It was so easy not to get involved especially when you’re the girl with the best smile, and the best laugh, enjoying the privilege of a world that’s much more polite.

 

And maybe, in the poetic justice of it all, all she could do now is watch. Just like always. Her eyes followed Chaeyoung walk away from her without looking back. The faint squeaking of her beat up sneakers became fainter and fainter with each heavy step Chaeyoung took. But Tzuyu doesn’t have to know how difficult everything is for Chaeyoung. Especially when she was just starting to feel safe around Tzuyu.

 

On her way back to the council room, Chaeyoung was wiping her cheeks with the sole of her palms when the doors swing open too quickly for her liking. She thanks the hoodie for hiding her features when she quickly looked down on her feet. She just hopes that Chaeryeong didn’t see her frantically wiping her cheeks as she made her way out.

 

“The conquering hero returns! Now, write the minutes.” Jeongyeon said when Chaeyoung entered the room. Holding a grudge as petty as this isn’t something to be proud of but Chaeyoung didn’t mind if Jeongyeon was like that. There are a lot more important things to do than wallow in her emotions. Give Tzuyu a few more days and she’ll totally forget she exists just like how everything was back then. Until then, she has to keep it together.

 

She’s okay. This is okay. She’ll survive this, just like everything that she had to.

 

~

 

The end of practice afternoon marks another day of not seeing Dahyun. Well, she did see Dahyun, but was only faced with a frosty reception. It’s been days now but Sana never really got used to it for some reason.

 

Back then, post practice was something that she looked forward to. Dahyun waiting for her in the bleachers, making sure that she’s okay at the end of the day, then driving her home so she could rest. The thought of Dahyun’s commitment brought her back to what her dad said about the president and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. More than that, the guilt of letting things go this far isn’t helping either.

 

Sana was putting her stuff inside her gym bag when a voice called out from behind her shoulder.

 

“Sana.” It was Coach Lee.

 

“Yeah, Coach?”

 

“Walk with me.” the older woman nodded to the direction of the field exits, tapping a rolled stack of papers on her palm in a slow and steady cadence. Sana quickly shoved her stuff inside her bag, making sure that the coach doesn’t wait a minute more than she should. Post training conversations with their coach is something regular but Sana can’t help but feel nervous whenever Coach Lee asks to talk to her alone.

 

On the surface, Coach Lee has a warm smile and a slim frame clothed in her usual windbreaker and yoga pants. But under her skin, she is known for many things: player of the year, quarterback, team captain of the Atteridge Crusaders some twenty something years ago, assistant coach to the Roanoke Bay Highlanders, and now their head coach, Lee Hyori has always been the unassuming helmsman of the team. Her dimpled smile, and mild mannered tone would make anyone think that she’s just here to cheer but she was the one who rekindled Atteridge’s rivalry with Westford.

 

They both walked across the field at a relaxed pace, or at least Coach Lee did, because Sana has every reason to be nervous. Sana has every reason to impress her.

 

“How’s it going with Yujin?” the coach asks casually, putting her hands behind her back.

 

“She’s very attentive, and is very easy to work with.” Sana assures. “Hard worker through and through. I think if we give her more playing hours, she’d understand the plays better.”

 

“Yeah. I agree.” Coach Lee nods, making Sana let go of the breath she didn’t know she’s holding. “I like that kid. Always first to show up, always the last one to leave. She never complains and never throws a fit. Didn’t you say she’ll make a good captain?”

 

“I did. Yes.” Sana sighed. “But she’s not visible.” There’s a palpable frustration in Sana’s tone, but there’s also a feeling of relief that their conversation revolved around their usual post practice topics.

 

“Visible?”

 

“Socially.” Sana looked down on her feet, following where her feet landed on the grass. “She doesn’t join the team except in games and practices so she never has a relationship with the time outside those. People tend to follow their friends, and Yujin seemed uninterested in being one.”

 

“Socially.” Coach Lee repeated the word, letting it hang between them. Whatever confidence Sana was carrying a while ago was slowly chipping away. It is clear that Coach Lee has something on her mind, “Hyebin and Taeha.” the coach continued and Sana deflates right then and there. “So they followed your lead because you’re their friend?”

 

“No!” Sana stops on her tracks then quickly corrects her tone the moment her eyes met the coach’s, “No, coach. That wasn’t the team’s idea. I’m sorry.”

 

“What do you think we should do about it?” Coach Lee raised her brow. “The game’s coming up and we need all our players. I don’t like them getting implicated.”

 

Sana looks around and sees Nancy laughing with her clique, and Tzuyu surrounded by Nayeon, Mina, and Jisoo. Young as she is, Tzuyu’s height made it easy for anyone to spot her and how she discreetly wiped her cheek. Nayeon was rubbing her back, while Mina appeared to be telling her something.

 

“I..” Sana thought, still looking how distraught her friend was. Meanwhile, Hyebin and Taeha approached their cheerleader friends, laughing and probably sucking up to each other. They forced Chaeyoung to miss a few days of classes and they still acted like everything was all fun and games.

 

Besides, the smug smile on Nancy’s face is so difficult to let pass. Sana had to try.

 

“I think Eunbi and Yena should play both ways.” Sana decided. “I’m gonna bench the two seniors for a while.”

 

“Why?” Coach Lee says in a rather dismissive tone.

 

“Coach, what they did was wrong and the school seems okay with it.”

 

“It’s outside school grounds, so it is not our responsibility.”

 

“That doesn’t make it right!” Sana erupted, then her shoulders slowly dropped when she realized this is another uphill battle. But she had to try.

 

“Huh.” Coach Lee grunted, then pointed forward with her roll of papers. They continued towards the exits, making Sana look up to the empty bleachers. “I was hoping you’d disagree with me. That’s good.”

 

“You did?” Sana said, visibly confused.

 

“I wanted to test you. See what you’re made of. Otherwise, you don’t have the right to train Yujin for the captaincy or even hold the captaincy for that matter.” Coach Lee said sternly, and now Sana was sinking into all levels of nervousness. Football is her whole high school life and the captaincy is her crowning glory. No one said it would be this hard. “The only thing I’m disappointed about is why it took you this long to decide.”

 

“I.. I was scared.” Sana began to stammer, but she answered honestly. “I needed to do what I thought was best for the team.

 

“So what’s the best for the team?” Coach Lee pinned, effectively shutting Sana up. What was she supposed to say? That the shit that happened in the bonfire should’ve been forgotten at that point? “What were you trying to achieve when you hid this information from me?”

 

“I thought I could fix it.”

 

“Fix what exactly?”

 

“I can’t risk tearing the team apart. Not during the season.” Sana surrendered. Coach Lee didn’t say much after that, but they continued to walk side by side.

 

“How’s Chaeyoung?” Coach Lee finally asked.

 

“I don’t know.” Sana mumbled, embarrassed that she can’t even provide that information. It only made her disconnection apparent.

 

“She is Dahyun’s friend, right? The student council president and your girlfriend. You’re supposed to know this. As this team’s leader.” Coach Lee says in a stern voice but she pulled Sana’s shoulder gently to stop her from walking any further. The quarterback turned and refused to meet the coach’s eyes. “Sana, you’re a good player. You’re athletic, you play on good instincts, and you have the charisma to back it up. But as a leader, you have the monopoly to direct how your team behaves. Not me. You’re high school kids. You’re not gonna listen to me. Never defend something like this because you’re scared of being a hypocrite. If that’s the price you atone for, then so be it. Just like in the plays that you adjust, you know what’s right. You don’t have to stick with what’s wrong.”

 

Sana sighed. The truth in their coach’s words pressed down heavily on her shoulders.

 

“You can be popular while being decent at the same time.” Coach Lee drilled her roll of papers into Sana’s shoulder. The quarterback just jerks back a bit, words finally leaving her alone. “Sleep on your decision for the both of them, Then talk to me before the game.”

 

“Coach, I’ve decided —.”

 

“No.” the older woman raised her hand between them. “Sleep on this.” she emphasized, “Then talk to me before the game. But hey,” the coach smiled. “I’m glad that this got you thinking.”

 

~

 

That night, instead of sharing dinner with her dad, she laid on her bed, looking up to the ceiling in darkness. And somehow, between the low humming of the AC and the distant sound of TV, her head kept on going back and forth to Dahyun— the only girl who has been absent in her life that was otherwise ruled by habits.

 

God knows how many times she scrolled through Dahyun’s Twitter and IG just so she could have a glimpse of the things she missed ever since Dahyun stopped talking to her. Seeing Dahyun’s face wasn’t easy, but seeing her messages was much more, surprisingly, maiming. It ranged from the most mundane, then, to some soft flirting that somehow fleshed out the whole charade. They were casual. Comfortable. Like they were really friends.

 

_**Dahyun** : Oh my god! I saw your twin here!_

 

This was when Dahyun saw a Japanese-bred dog one weekend. They’re not together that day, but Sana wished they were so she could retaliate to the accusation with a threat of a kiss.

 

_**Dahyun** : What do you want me to make for breakfast tomorrow?_

 

A reminder of how their routines began to build around each other. She picks up Dahyun on school days where the president’s day starts earlier than the rest. And in exchange for waking up earlier than usual, Dahyun would make them breakfast to eat along the way or in school. Depending on Sana’s stomach.

 

_**Dahyun** : Sorry, I just got home! :( You can call me now! :)_

 

They went home separately that day. Dahyun’s dad picked her up from school for some family errands, and they both agreed to call each other before the day ends. They never really knew why they had to do it, blaming only the precedents of their habits so they can avoid the feelings that needed to be avoided. And while Dahyun did not owe Sana an apology, Sana still felt that she mattered to her somehow.

 

_**Dahyun** : Hey, let’s check out that new boba milk tea store in Five Points._

 

Even if they’re swamped by council meetings, and practices, and games, they tried to feed into their curiosities of what’s happening in the city. They’ve hung out a lot of times already, thinking that they might as well enjoy each other’s time and company. Hatching plans of what to do with Sana’s revenge while thinking of ways to satisfy the Guide to the Infinite Year.

 

_**Dahyun:** Alright! Go have fun! Say hi to Momo and Jihyo for me._

 

Dahyun was surprisingly sparse when needed. She wasn’t like Nancy who kept her on a really short leash. Sana could spend hours not texting Dahyun, and Dahyun wouldn’t really bitch out about it. But Dahyun isn’t her girlfriend, at least not in the realest sense, so complaining on verbal absences wasn’t her right. But even so, Sana would immediately check in when all the fun has ended. At that moment, Dahyun would always be ready to listen to her stories, then she would also tell Sana about hers.

 

_**Dahyun** : I’ll drive us tonight, okay? Don’t argue with me on this. My presidential powers are stronger than your captaincy._

 

This was Dahyun’s message on the last practice she attended. Before everything screeched into an unwanted and abrupt silence. And more than a message, it was a promise guided by the same intention of Dahyun’s loyalty to her. A loyalty that she stumbled to give back.

 

Then, there was the last ever message.

 

_**Dahyun** : Fine. I miss you too. See you at the bonfire?_

 

Nothing eventful followed after that. Only words of “Not now.” or “You don’t have to call.” or “I’m fine.” Scarce words that made Sana realize the extent of emptiness that indifference can give.

 

The change in Dahyun’s tone felt like a drop into a cliff, almost inescapable with how it snatched away all the comfort, and softness, and gentleness. And if Jeongyeon’s word holds true, Dahyun might be hurting as much as she does. Maybe even more.

 

But as a leader, you have the monopoly to direct how your team behaves. Coach Lee’s words swirled in her head. Sana has a decision to make. And she has Dahyun to take back.

  
 

///

  
 

Marymont vs. Atteridge

 

“Offense, let’s go!” Coach Lee clapped once, prompting the offensive line to take to the field. Yujin took off her white baseball cap and switched her helmet in its place. Eunbi and Yena followed close behind her, with Hyebin and Taeha looking confused when two defense players were moving in with the line.

 

But before they could step into the field, Sana turns to them and pushes the both of them back.

 

“Sana, what’s this?” Hyebin asked, a bit confused and annoyed. Sana squinted threateningly at her reaction and leaned a bit forward.

 

“I don’t understand how you are so confused about this.” Sana raised her brow. “Both of you on the bench. After the stunt that you pulled in the bonfire, the three of us are not playing tonight.”

 

Five hours before the game started, Sana talked to her friends and then to Coach Lee. She stood by her decision to bench Hyebin and Taeha, but she also surprised their coach when Sana benched herself as well. When their coach asked, Sana only said that it was her fault too, and everyone who fucked up in the bonfire won’t be playing tonight.

 

“Y.. you’re kidding, right?” Hyebin insisted.

 

“You wanna test that? Sit down and tend to the water, ladies.” Sana ordered. “You can clown around during off season, but as long as you’re playing in my team, you don’t get to be a pathetic lap dog to someone else.”

 

The benched players looked at Coach Lee, who only nodded to Sana in reply.

 

“My dad’s gonna hear about this.” Taeha threatened.

 

“Yeah.” Sana smirked and chuckled smugly, then patted Taeha’s shoulder. “Water, Taeha. Bring ‘em quick once the offense line comes back.”

 

For the past two quarters, Sana has not played. All she did was to give out cups of water to the returning lines, join the huddles to give out instructions with Coach Lee, or give out instructions from the sidelines. Her uniform is clean, and the people were roaring in dissatisfaction.

 

Sana didn’t care, though. No one cared about Chaeyoung anyway. Instead, she looks up to the bleachers and searches for the student council clique. Minjoo is visibly nervous, and Sana wonders if Dahyun ever felt that way whenever she plays.

 

Up on the stands, Dahyun’s eyes met Sana’s, and for the first time in a long long while, it stayed there. Sana tips her black baseball cap to say hi, and Dahyun responded by calling out to Jeongyeon. She didn’t break eye contact with the quarterback as she reached her arm out to her side. Dahyun made sure that Sana sees this.

 

“Jeongyeon.” she said. “My jacket.”

 

Sana isn’t playing today, but Dahyun, just like in every game, wears Sana’s jacket.

 

With one hand tucked under her armpit, Sana puts up four fingers with her free hand, closes her fist, then points two fingers down. Yujin nods and Sana folds her arms. Coach Lee is betting on tough odds when she agreed to soak the greenhorn quarterback. Sana trusts Yujin, though. She just hopes that Yujin left enough confidence for herself.

 

“Forty on blast, Two-One Pike!” Yujin called out before her line assembled the scrimmage. “Green, 32! Green 32! Hut!”

 

The play started but when the defense lines suddenly shifted, Yujin’s instinct stuttered. The scrimmage crashed and the players dashed in. Before she could even react to the sudden change, she felt being pushed back and suspended in the air.

 

The ball rolls out from her hands and the last thing she saw is a Marymont player picking it up and running away with it.

 

It goes on like this for the next quarters. Yuijn was struggling to keep her team intact. And for every score they make, their opponent replies in kind. Minjoo was hiding behind Dahyun, probably crying her eyes out. And Sana can’t blame her because Yujin’s kit was all muddied up, her knuckles were scratched, and her shoulders hung low.

 

Sana knew that this was bound to happen, but not this bad. But if this possible loss is the price to pay for the sins they have done, then so be it. Sana just has to get her captainship together, even from the sidelines.

 

“Yujin! Get your ass over here!” Sana whipped her finger down on the spot right in front of her, and Yujin quickly obeys. “Listen! What are you so scared of? Losing?” Yujin looks down but Sana was quicker to grab onto her helmet grills. “I cannot lead you tonight. I cannot bail you out! I am unfit to lead. Do you understand?”

 

Yujin tried her best to nod, but she glanced at the scoreboard instead.

 

“Don’t look at the time, look at me!” Sana spat out. “You are better than me.” she whispered. Yujin somehow got the feeling that she’s not talking about football anymore. “You are better than me, but you have to prove it. I would not have trusted you if I didn't believe you could do better.”

 

Yujin closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stared right into Sana’s eyes.

 

“Open your eyes and read the plays. You got Eunbi and Yena, Seulgi and Momo. Make use of them! Power punch! Dice, right!” Sana instructed. “You know this, Yujin! We practiced this! Your team can’t trust you if you can’t trust yourself. Go!” She lets go of Yujin’s helmet and slaps her on the butt. Meanwhile, the younger quarterback jogs back to her scrimmage to bark out her call.

 

“Power punch, dice right! But..” she points to the ground, then looks for two specific team mates. “But I want Eunbi and Yena to pay fucking attention. If the line does not permit, Colt Seventy, buck double down. You got it? Colt Seventy. Buck double down!”

 

Seulgi and Momo looked at each other while the junior defenders nodded.

 

“I’ll call it out so pay attention!” Yujin punches Eunbi’s shoulders, then bangs their helmets together. “Charge on crusader.” She puts her hand on the center of the huddle with her teammates following her lead. “Crusader!”

 

“Charge!” the team roared then assembled their line.

 

“Green! 69! Green! 69!” Yujin began to howl. But Sana catches a different set of movements from the defense, making her snap back to Yujin. The junior quarterback stopped at the briefest of moments before changing her song. “Blue 19! Blue 19! Hut!”

 

The ball gets snapped as Coach Lee and Sana smirked at Yujin’s adjustment. The scrimmage line collapses and Momo steps into the end zone. Yujin glimpsed at her for a quick second, then hurled the ball towards her. A defensive lineman jumps into the ball’s route to intercept it.

 

“This kid.” Coach Lee chuckles. It would’ve been a good intercept if the ball left Yujin’s hands. She spun around to dodge a tackler, then handed Seulgi the ball when she made a cut behind her. She’s called the “Bear” for some reason, but she jumped like a damn stallion over the scrimmage line.

 

The game still ended with a loss. The first one in Atteridge’s otherwise sterling record. While Coach Lee and Sana took Yujin’s late comeback as a good sign, the greenhorn’s adjustments weren’t as early as everyone hoped. Sana would have to deal with tonight’s fallout. Not only for her and Yujin, but also for the other players. Afterall, parents don’t take it well when their kids weren’t allowed to play. Especially when the good ones were benched during a game that slipped their grip.

 

“You benched my kid!” Sana could already hear the familiar voice as she stepped out from the field. Meanwhile, Coach Lee, the ever mild mannered woman that she is, explained that all of this is part of the ‘bigger game plan’. “That QB you put in can’t even put an offense together! Sana was there!”

 

“Dad.” Sana called out, making her parents and Coach Lee turn to her direction. “It was my decision.”

 

“What do you mean your decision?” his dad frowned, his tone. “What about college football? Are you really going to play with your future like this?”

 

Future. At that moment, from the other side of the parking lot, Sana’s eyes met Dahyun’s. It stayed there for a while, content in its silence, and the truce that came with it. Future. Sana’s eyes switched to the girl that was standing right beside her girlfriend. Hoodie covering half of her face, with her jacket maybe three sizes bigger than her usual.

 

How about her future? Sana thought.

 

“What?” her dad says, pulling Sana out from her train of thought. “Who’s future?”

 

Sana just looked at her father sternly, not answering when she realized that she just spoke what she had thought. Then, she caught a glimpse of Taeha’s parents coming in from her peripheral, their pace filled with conviction. Still staring into his father’s eyes, Sana fished her phone out of her pocket then finally turned to the older man with an unamused look on his face. The mother has a sadder one, though. Like she was disappointed with how Sana handled things.

 

“Any reason why Taeha had to sit this one out?” Taeha’s dad threw his glance back and forth between Coach Lee and Sana, waiting for whoever talks the first, like he was talking to kids who messed up the dishes.

 

Coach Lee opened her mouth to speak, but Sana spoke first.

 

“I am sorry, Mr. Kim.” Sana addressed the older man politely, still, before offering her phone with a video already playing. If it was in her junior year, Sana would’ve also laughed at the prank. She would’ve taken a video of it, posted it on her twitter to immortalize it, then tag her friends so she could laugh about it all over again. It was a story she’d tell to her co-workers just so she could brag how crazy she was back in high school.

 

And judging by the faces of Taeha’s parents, Sana believed that they were really crazy. But the kind of crazy that made Mrs. Kim look away and up to her husband, eyes filled with embarrassment, while her husband’s frown slowly, but very visibly, slanted down into worry. Because suddenly, he felt like they didn't know their own daughter at all.

 

“I..” he began, words falling short. Sana’s mom had her hand over her mouth, while her dad shrunk in a mixture of similar embarrassment and confusion. “That’s not Taeha, is it?”

 

His question sounded like a plea waiting for an affirmation that would absolve his daughter from all of this. Whatever verve his tone possessed a few moments back was turned into an unsure whimper.

 

“It’s Taeha and another team mate of ours.” Sana opened her palms and received her phone back from shaky hands. “Mr. Kim, the kid they doused was absent for several days after that. I hope you understand that we’re only doing this to make sure that this won’t happen again.”

 

“But you were benched too. You’re not in the video.” Sana’s dad asked.

 

The quarterback looked down on her feet for a few seconds, took a deep breath, then tilted her chin up. She stood straight, dignified yet not boasting.

 

“I am the captain, dad. And this is my team.” Sana nodded once, mustering a conviction that she thought she never had. “Their failure is my failure.”

 

~

 

Dahyun watched everything unfold. There was a feeling of pride, but also a feeling of deep relief. That in the days of them being apart, Sana somehow found a way to make things right for Chaeyoung. That Sana is not as hopeless as the others.

 

It might not be much, as far as the greater scale of things is concerned, but maybe, just maybe, this is enough to give everything a little push towards the right direction.

 

That night, when Sana was alone in her room and with her thoughts, her phone lights up. She picks her phone up and sees a widget notification covering her wallpaper that was Dahyun.

 

**[Dahyun babygirl]:**

You did well tonight.

Rest well.

 

Dahyun didn’t receive a reply after that. But in Sana’s room, a closet was opened, a jacket was missing, the bed was unmade, and the quiet sound of wheels crushing the gravel was heard from the outside.

 

~

 

A hooded figure stopped by Dahyun’s house. It looked around for any sign of neighbors walking their dogs or taking out trash, then, when they were sure that they were indeed alone, the figure vaulted over a fence that led to the back of Dahyun’s home.

 

The grass crunched under their feet, making them wince in fear of getting caught. It stayed down for a few moments, gauging any movements inside the house. It was quiet, at least downstairs, because when it looked up to Dahyun’s window, the lights were still on.

 

The figure carefully placed one of the lawn chairs close to the edge of an offshooting roof and climbed up. It shimmied quietly like it wasn’t their first time skipping on rooftops. The figure stopped right beside Dahyun’s window, peeked in. For a brief moment, the figure’s shoulder rose and sunk, as if contemplating if this was a good idea.

 

The figure knocked and it quickly realized that no, this was not, in all aspects, a good idea.

 

Mr. Kim always told Dahyun that it will only take 10 seconds to get from his room to hers. This night, with her daughter screaming on the top of her lungs, it only took 5 and with a shotgun on hand.

 

The door swung open, and with the amount of personal ordnance that the older man was holding, Sana just knew this was serious.

 

“What’s wrong?!”

 

“Sana is outside my window!” Dahyun points at the hooded figure standing right outside the roof.

 

“It’s me, Mr. Kim! Don’t shoot!” Sana raised both her hands up in the air.

 

“I don’t understand, sweetie.” Dahyun’s dad frowned and threw his gaze back and forth between the two, lowering the gun just to make sure that no one gets hurt in the off chance that it goes off. The statistics are very serious about misfires.

 

“Appa! Shoot her!” Dahyun points at the figure.

 

“Oh, come on!” Sana’s shoulders dropped, then she spat her words out through gritted teeth. “Really, Dahyun?!”

 

“Enough! Don’t scare me like that again.” he frowned as he placed his gun on safe-mode. “And Sana, come inside! It’s freezing out there!”

 

Mr. Kim walked towards Dahyun’s window and opened it enough for Sana to step in. In the middle watching Sana wriggle herself in, Dahyun’s dad became visibly confused on why she’s letting Sana inside the window and not the front door. But the situation is already weird as it is, and sometimes it’s better to leave it at that.

 

“Thanks, Mr. Kim.” Sana patted her jacket down, then gave Mr. Kim a low bow. Dahyun told her that he’s a bit of a traditionalist third generation migrant, and when it comes to Dahyun, Sana always tried to be attentive.

 

“What the hell are you even doing outside?” he asked.

 

“I wanted to see Dahyun and —.” Sana looked at her girlfriend.

 

“And somehow, in between walking from your house and ours, you forgot that front doors existed. Do your parents even know you’re here?”

 

“I’m sorry, Mr. K. I just thought Dahyun wouldn't answer if I got in through the front door.” Sana rubbed the back of her neck, realizing how stupid all of this was. “And no, they don’t know.”

 

The older man’s face contorted from worry, to confusion, then to disappointment. As a parent, what Sana did was really dangerous. More so that she didn’t even tell her parents about it.

 

“So you guys thought it’s okay to just sneak around?” he sighed.

 

“No! Sana did! I was just here!” Dahyun was quick to absolve herself. She didn’t want to throw Sana under the bus but she also wanted to just kind of enjoy making things hard for Sana.

 

“Enough, Kim Dahyun.” her dad huffed. “This has to stop. The both of you. This fight of yours has dragged on for too long and I’m not willing to shoot Sana just because of that. Not saying that I’m never going to shoot you, but no offense, Sana. You’re dating my only daughter after all.” Mr. Kim shuts the windows and began to make his way toward the door.

 

“None taken, Mr. K. You know I love Dahyun with all my heart.” Sana placed her hand over her heart and turned to Dahyun with feigning the best heart warming smile she could muster. To which, Dahyun just made face.

 

“You know the rules, Dahyun. Especially now that Sana has a tendency to sneak around and not tell her parents about it.” Mr. Kim pointed to her daughter, then turned to Sana with a sincere smile. “You two play nice now.” Then, he disappeared into the hallway. It didn’t take long before the humming of the AC filled the silence between them, making them feel more alone than they actually are.

 

Sana takes off her hood, then looks for Dahyun’s eyes. She wasn’t sure if Dahyun’s gonna take her back, but there’s a reason to be optimistic when Dahyun looked at her without any hostility.

 

“Come on.” Dahyun spoke softly, but seriously. It has been a while since Sana heard Dahyun’s voice and she just knew that it’s about to get serious. “Rules say that we need to hang out downstairs. And can you tell your parents that you’re here?”

 

“Okay.”

 

“They might be worried, okay?” there’s a strange insistence in Dahyun’s voice that Sana can’t seem to place. She shrugged it off for now, thinking that it might be her presidential instincts coming in.

 

“Do you want anything?” Dahyun opened the fridge while Sana plopped down on the couch.”Juice? Coffee? I don’t know.” Dahyun pointed at the selection with her hand then dropped said hand on her lap altogether.

 

“I want you.” Sana said, “I mean..” she tried to catch up to what she said when she realized how it sounded. “I want you back.”

 

Dahyun would’ve let that one pass as Sana being Sana, but when she glanced over her shoulder and toward the person on the couch, she just felt that Sana was saying this in all sincerity and seriousness.

 

They just stared into each other’s eyes for a good minute, trying to search for the words that they left in the days when they refused to talk to each other. Dahyun was the first to break with a soft chuckle, and Sana can’t help but to smile back.

 

“We’ll see about that.” Dahyun says, and Sana was meek all of a sudden. “But for now, I think this would do.”

 

Dahyun sashayed towards Sana, amused at how Sana’s attention was solely dedicated to her. If it’s because of the days of being apart, she doesn’t know. But it reminded her how it felt to be someone’s someone.

 

Dahyun placed two bottles of juice on the coffee table and opened the TV. She scrolled through the list of their choices in Netflix, a list they made a few weekends back, and settled with the latest episode of The Patriot Act. Dahyun knew that they’d be doing more talking and less watching tonight, but she felt that the occasion calls for a show to formally declare that they are, once again, the couple that is Sana and Dahyun.

 

There was a sense of relief that washed over Sana when she felt the couch shift on Dahyun’s weight. Sana watched Dahyun settle in, and it was only then that she noticed how distracting the president was. She can blame it on the days that they were apart. She can blame it on Dahyun’s short boxers that clung to her milky thighs like a second skin. She can blame it on Dahyun’s low ponytail, and how cute she looks in her glasses. All Sana could do is look away for now and towards the TV, patiently waiting for the permission to feel Dahyun’s skin against hers.

 

“You told your parents yet?” Dahyun reminded in a soft voice.

 

“Yeah.” Sana nodded, but seemed to run out of words after that. The silence that followed wasn’t awkward or repulsive. But like an alien announcing that they come in peace, Sana had to acknowledge a level of formality — more specifically, addressing what needs to be addressed. And so, she starts with, “How’s Chaeyoung?”

 

Dahyun sighed at the question, maybe frustrated with how long it took Sana to get to this moment.

 

“She’s fine.” Dahyun tried and managed to smile, albeit hinted with sadness. “She’s back in school.”

 

“Yeah, Nayeon mentioned.” Sana finally adjusted her posture and sprawled herself on the length of the couch, her feet towards the TV. She wanted to complete the portrait of how things were — her lying down on this big L-shaped couch, Dahyun sitting beside her, pillow now covering her bare legs, them talking about things while the TV’s on. “That’s good.”

 

This specific show playing always been good but Sana didn’t feel bad that her mind was focused on something else. Dahyun hated it when Sana would ask questions about the show, but now, Dahyun seemed to be absent-mindedly watching as well. It was quiet again for a few moments, then Sana leans towards Dahyun, and Dahyun leans towards her. Backs pressed against the backrest, their heads tilted toward each other, eyes still straight ahead.

 

“I want you to know that Chaeyoung appreciated what you did.” Dahyun made a quick glance at Sana’s direction and smiled. “It’s not everyday that someone stands up for her.”

 

“We have you to thank for that, then.” Sana admitted. “You and Jeongyeon. And Jieun.”

 

“We’re not as good as you paint us to be.”

 

“And what does that say for the rest of us?” Sana assured. “Chaeyoung is lucky to have you. And..” she paused, swimming in her thoughts for a moment, before picking up some courage, “And I’m pretty lucky to have you, too.”

 

Dahyun had to regularly endure the bullshit that Sana says, so much so that she knows when Sana means what she was actually saying. This was one of those moments.

 

“It’s just that, I didn’t want to be the kind of person who’d tell you how to act, what to say, and how to feel.” Dahyun sighed, the second time she did, and still with the hint of frustration, “But I needed you to realize that for us, these things aren’t all fun and games. I want you to figure that out by yourself without me telling you what to do.”

 

Sana nodded, a bit disappointed at herself as well, but a little more understanding on why Dahyun had to distance herself.

 

“I’m sorry.” Sana’s apology finally sounded like it knew exactly what it was talking about. “I’m sorry for not standing up for your friend. Our friend.” she repeated, with verve this time. “I was confused. Everything was happening so fast, and I thought I’m gonna lose everything in one night. You, my team, my captaincy.”

 

Dahyun was quiet, but she showed Sana that she was listening.

 

“It’s awful. I’m awful!” Sana pressed the sole of her palms against her eyes as she rambled on, “I didn’t say anything that night because before being friends with you, I would’ve laughed at that too. I would’ve shared the video too. I would’ve told stories about it in college just to brag how crazy we were.” Sana stopped only to gasp for air when she felt her heart clenching and her tears threatening to burst as well. “And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry because when I saw that it was Chaeyoung on the dirt, and it was my team standing over her, I saw myself. I realized that it could’ve been me doing that and I got scared. I tried to defend them so that I could defend myself, and… I fucked up.” Sana finally admits. “I’m so sorry, Dahyun.”

 

Dahyun has no use for Sana’s flowers, or chocolates, or whatever grand gesture she has planned just to say sorry. But Sana’s words on the other hand, no matter how painfully honest, are the only thing that Dahyun wants to hear. That was everything that she was waiting for.

 

“I’m sorry too.” Dahyun bowed her head with a whimper, and Sana was quick to catch her cheek.

 

“Baby, no. I’m sorry.”

 

“I had to distance myself from you because I was so damn hurt.” Dahyun’s chin crumpled, “Chaeyoung is my best friend. Like how many kinds of disgusting do people have to be to think that it’s fun treating people like that.” tears began to sting Dahyun’s eyes. “I’m not perfect, Sana. I’ve done things. I’m capable of hating. I’m capable of being a bitch. I’m capable of what these people could do, but that doesn’t mean that we have to do it. That night, I was so scared because I’m not sure if Chaeyoung would wake up the morning after that.”

 

Sana cups Dahyun’s face with both hands this time, warm skin against flushed cheeks. She tilts Dahyun’s face up so that their eyes could meet and even if they were glistening in tears, Sana learned that Dahyun’s eyes are something she’d never grow tired of.

 

“We’ll all go to school and go on with our lives but Chaeyoung had to convince herself every morning that she’s worth more than the garbage treatment that she has been enduring. Every damn day, Sana. And I don’t know how long she could keep that up.” Dahyun tried to look away when she burst into tears, shoulders jerking with every violent whimper. “I thought she could make more friends so she wouldn’t feel that everything is fucked up, and for some sick humor the universe made us friends. You are good to me, Sana. And I thought she could be friends with you and your friends.”

 

Sana didn’t know why, but those words made her heart thump harder than it should.

 

“You were good to me and I’m thankful for that. And so I thought you’d be good to my friends too. They liked you because I trusted you. At that moment, in the bonfire, I trusted you.” Dahyun found it hard to say words when she felt like breaking like a dam. It wasn’t as easy for Sana too because Dahyun’s words made her heart clench in guilt.

 

Sana has been drowning in Dahyun’s eyes since they woke up half naked at Jennie's party. She has been lost in far too many times and she knew that Dahyun’s eyes never lied that night of the bonfire. They were glazed in confusion, disappointment, and pain.

 

“You were my friend, and I really believed that.” Dahyun whimpered. “So I was so hurt when you weren’t there with us.”

 

“I’m still your friend, Dahyun. Please. I am so sorry. I’m really really sorry.” Sana began to cry too, and that’s okay. Because in the days where they refused to talk to each other, being honest in this moment afforded a kind of hope that they can patch this up.

 

“I know.” Dahyun held the hands that were cupping her face and pressed them harder against her cheek, her thumbs rubbing the outside of Sana’s warm hands. “I know. And I think it’s time for us to make things right.”

 

~

 

If one would ask Sana to tell them about what she was watching for the last couple of hours, she wouldn’t be able to answer. If you ask Dahyun the same question, she wouldn’t give a proper answer as well. But the TV played on, a chatty watcher that served as a third presence in their rather intimate conversation.

 

They talked about what happened in the last game. Sana said she thought she kind of got Taeha grounded, recounting the lengthy email that Coach Lee received from her parents early this evening. She’s not sure what happened to Hyebin, though, but news will reach her soon nonetheless. Dahyun shared that Minjoo was crazy worried, and that she was crying when she saw Yujin get beat up over and over. Sana felt bad about that too, saying that for the entirety of her decision for today’s game, soaking Yujin in play time like that was the thing that she was most unsure of.

 

They caught up on what happened after the bonfire too. How Nayeon and Jeongyeon managed to be friends despite of, and with Tzuyu faring worse than expected. Sana also said that Momo and Mina aren’t on talking terms, mostly because of what Momo said in the bonfire, but Sana also hoped that they fix soon like how she and Dahyun fixed theirs.

 

Sana also said what Nancy told her that night, and she was quite sure that she led that entire prank. Dahyun was just quiet all throughout that part. She didn’t diss Nancy, or her cohorts. Not even when Sana was ranting about how mad she was. Dahyun just listened, and at some moments, Sana was pretty sure that she was thinking.

 

All in all, Sana can honestly say that things were almost back to normal as far as her friendship with Dahyun is involved. Almost back to normal because for the whole duration of their conversation, Dahyun was lying down right beside Sana, rib snuggled against rib, and with Dahyun’s head resting on Sana’s chest.

 

And all throughout the duration of their tedious, comedic, and amusing relationship, Sana was pretty sure that it’s not normal. But she won’t complain. Not when she finally got this close to Dahyun after spending days of being so far away from her.

 

“Hey, babe?” Sana whispered.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Are you sure about your plan?” Sana glanced down for a quick second, alluding to a conversation they had earlier tonight.

 

“It is written in the Guide to the Infinite Year.” Dahyun said, head still resting on Sana’s chest, quietly enjoying how it rises and falls in calm breaths. “I am very very sure.”

 

“Dahyun.” Sana gently strokes Dahyun’s hair. “This will stir up the hornet’s nest.”

 

“I know.”

 

“This can explode to something else.”

 

“There's that possibility, yes.” Dahyun agreed, and Sana paused her hand for a moment.

 

“Am I going to be your accomplice, then?”

 

“It’s what we’ve agreed on since day one. I’ll play as your girlfriend, while you help me with certain ‘tasks’. The Guide to the Infinite Year.” Dahyun shifts in her spot but refuses to untangle herself from Sana. “I’m not gonna force you, though.”

 

“No.” Sana continued to stroke Dahyun’s hair once more. “I’m your girlfriend, remember? I’m in.”

 

“Good.” Dahyun looks up, settling her cheek on the spot where Sana’s chest meets her shoulder. It wouldn’t take much movement to make their noses touch, but damn Sana’s head became a bit too woozy when she felt Dahyun’s warm breath graze on her lips. Dahyun laughed when she noticed Sana’s sudden silence. “I’m not gonna kiss you, Sana. That’s for super duper emergencies only.”

 

“You know, if you really want to try, I’m not gonna say no.”

 

“Shut up.” Dahyun slaps Sana’s shoulder playfully, because it’s Sana and her silly words and her annoying banter. And when Sana flashed her smug smile in response, Dahyun knew that it’s about time. “Let’s get you home.”

 

~

 

Dahyun knocks twice softly, then opens the door to her parents’ room. Half of her body bends and peeks into the room. The room is still pretty much lived in but it felt a bit lonely, much like the older man hunched over his study table.

 

“Appa.” she called out. Her dad jerked up slightly, maybe a bit startled, then he looked at Dahyun then the clock, then back at Dahyun.

 

“Oh, Sana’s still here?” he said, taking off his glasses.

 

“She’s just about to leave.”

 

“Ah, yes.” he nodded. “So, you guys fixed what you needed to fix?”

 

Dahyun just stepped away from the side of the door, standing in the middle of the doorway. She pulled Sana into view and raised their hands, clasped, with fingers intertwined together. She waved it about boastfully, only to stop when her dad smiles and nods.

 

“I’m sorry for climbing up to Dahyun’s window, Mr. Kim.” Sana, with her free hand, rubbed the back of her neck.

 

“Don’t that again, alright?” Mr. Kim says as he walked towards the couple. He reached his hand out and good thing Dahyun was holding Sana’s left hand because Sana uses her right to shake hands with someone. “Drive safely. Check in with Dahyun once you get home, okay? Good night, captain.”

 

“Good night, Mr. Kim.” Sana bowed low again, with Dahyun and her dad exchanging approving glances. “I hope to see you next game.”

 

“Are you playing this time?”

 

“Hopefully.”

 

“Okay then.” he smiled.

 

Dahyun walked Sana to her car, and when Sana tried to look for her keys, it was only then that Dahyun realized she was still holding Sana’s hand. It felt strange that it fit perfectly, that the moment Sana lets go, Dahyun quickly realizes how much she craved for something that was not hers by right.

 

“I’ll stay up until you get home.” Dahyun wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her shoulder to brush off the cold.

 

“Hey, go inside. It’s freezing.” Sana said and it made Dahyun tense up. Not because of what she said, but on how Sana’s hands just casually snaked their way around Dahyun’s waist. And before Dahyun could adhere to the touch, she felt Sana’s arms engulfing her in a tight hug like it was making up for all the hugs they’ve missed.

 

Dahyun stayed still for a while and just let herself sink deeper inside Sana, burying her face into Sana’s shoulder. But it’s late, and Sana needs to go, so Dahyun looks up while her hands graze up from Sana’s chest, to her shoulder, then around her neck. She tilted her head to the side as she learned, making sure that it looked deliberate that she was aiming for Sana’s cheek.

 

They’re friends, Dahyun thought. And kisses on the lips are for super duper emergencies only.

 

Sana would settle for one on the cheek, though. And her smile was more than enough to tell Dahyun what it meant to her.

  
 

///

 

(to be continued)


	8. A Super Duper Emergency (2)

**A Super Duper Emergency**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

 

 _“You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you’ll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk.”_ \- They Both Die At The End (Adam Silvera)

 

///

 

(continued from [x](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19278877/chapters/54651100))

 

///

 

A new school week rolls in and for the first time after a while, Dahyun comes out from Sana’s car. People in the parking lot watched in hushed whispers as the couple walked across the lot with their fingers intertwined. Sana greeted the people she knew with single downward nods ang high fives with her free hand, while Dahyun flashed her best smile to the people who actually cared about her.

 

It didn’t take too long before their friends joined in. Jeongyeon jogged up and paced with Dahyun, while Nayeon, clutching her books close to her chest, walked beside Sana.

 

“‘Sup, my dude.” Sana greeted the band girl, and for some reason, Dahyun frowned on reflex.

 

“My dude.” Jeongyeon nodded and greeted back.

 

“What?” Dahyun looked up to Sana, frown still on her face.

 

“What? We’re each other’s dudes now.” Sana reasoned back, and Dahyun leaned a bit forward to look at Nayeon.

 

“No.” Nayeon said as she swiped about on her phone. “Do not look at me. It’s Monday morning and I refuse to be a part of this.”

 

“You know,” Jeongyeon walks ahead of the group, turns to them, and starts walking backwards. “In the most recent scientific studies, it’s revealed that Nayeon has a, get this, a close to zero sex time and that’s why she’s cranky. I love science.”

 

This time, it was Nayeon’s turn to lean forward and look at the president.

 

“As Jeongyeon’s best friend, when do you think is the best time to kill her? After your council stuff whatever or before that?” She swings her phone back and forth in the air, pointing at imaginary spots that are supposed to stand for before and after council stuff. “I’m still leading the cheer team during the football season and I have a really short window here.”

 

Dahyun and Sana just laughed as they finally stopped in front of the door to the DMZ. Jeongyeon positions herself behind the president, ready to open the door for her, and Dahyun turns to Nayeon.

 

“Definitely not before prom because we need all the help we can get.” Dahyun chuckles, and Jeongyeon wiggled her eyebrows much to Nayeon’s annoyance.

 

“God, I love prom.” Jeongyeon makes a chef’s kiss. “Science and prom.” then opened the door for Dahyun.

 

“I’ll see you later.” Dahyun makes a small tiptoe and kisses Sana’s cheek. It’s her first time doing this without Sana asking for it, and Sana didn’t know what to make of it except that her heart was beating so damn fast. “Also, don’t forget about Saturday.”

 

“Yeah.” Sana grins, both of them not noticing the thumbs up that Nayeon was making under her chest. Jeongyeon winks at her, making sure that the lovebirds aren’t getting a wind of this. Soon enough, the athletics leaders walked away, leaving the council leaders at the door. Dahyun walks under Jeongyeon’s arm, with her friend announcing the president’s arrival.

 

“Captain on the bridge!”

 

Dahyun greeted everyone with a good morning, then walked to the head of the table to share instructions on this afternoon’s meeting. Jeongyeon followed behind, but before she could take a seat, Dahyun turned to her for a quick second.

 

“Were you with Nayeon when we came in?” she asked, out of curiosity.

 

“Nah.” Jeongyeon just waved her hand.

 

Meanwhile, Nayeon and Sana were walking to the field where the athletics usually congregate. From her decision from the last game, Sana felt the shift in her players’ attitude when they saw her come in. The juniors looked at her pretty much the same way, considering the playtime they got, while the seniors, especially those closer to Nancy’s circle looked at her with caution. Some of them tried to avert their gaze, some still greeted her normally, like Lisa and Seulgi. But most of them are pretty wary.

 

“Were you with Jeongyeon when we came in?” Sana suddenly asks, ignoring the energy of her team.

 

“We both came from the parking lot, where students come from, if that’s what you’re asking.” Nayeon shrugged then shifted the conversation entirely. “So you and Dahyun finally good?”

 

“Yeah.” Sana nodded with a big stupid smile casted over her face. Which was good, considering the recent events at school. Nayeon looked around and saw their friends and started walking in their direction.

 

“Last game’s stunt ruffled some feathers. I hope you have a plan.” Nayeon comments, from one leader to another, when she noticed how Sana’s team mates looked at her.

 

“As it should.” Sana tucks her hands inside her jacket and looked toward where Nancy’s clique gathered. They were laughing, some were making out, some were cozying up to the upper tiers of their local food chain, while the lesser ones followed the more popular jocks around. “I am Minatozaki Sana. Nancy made a fool out of me once, it will never happen again.”

 

Sana’s words didn’t really sit well with Nayeon, especially the part that sounded much like a threat. Nayeon knew that benching Hyebin and Taeha was a punishment, and somehow, she knew that it wouldn’t stop there. Afterall, this is the high school jungle.

 

“Are we gonna get in trouble?”

 

“You? No.” Sana assured. Then as she casted her gaze on Nancy’s direction, their eyes inevitably met and Sana stayed there, going back to what Nancy said to her in the bonfire. “Me? Most probably.”

  
 

~

 

That afternoon’s training wasn't team training.

 

The entire regiment involved running plays after plays after plays with Yujin at the helm. There was no break for her. If she gets the play wrong, they start all over. If she’s drinking water, she does it while Coach Lee and Sana are on her either side, animatedly explaining the breakdown of what just happened. If it’s a three minute break, Yujin gets a short quiz on what play to run and when. Then, it’s back to the field, applying everything she’s learning at the screech of the whistle.

 

It’s Coach Lee shouting at her. It’s Sana giving her what she can only describe as a mix of scolding and pep-talk. It’s the beaten expression of her teammates whenever a play gets restarted. It gets more difficult as she becomes more exhausted, and her parts get a bit more sore and painful.

 

The pressure was weighing heavily on her shoulders but Yujin understood why she had to go through this. She never complained. She never threw a fit. And while Sana knew that Yujin gets scared sometimes, the junior quarterback never gave up.

 

Sana felt bad when it seemed like it was Yujin who was paying the price of Sana’s failure. But whenever she sees her junior gaining a bit more confidence in herself, it makes Sana believe that she’s somehow doing the right thing.

 

And there’s Eunbi and Yena. They weren’t particularly friends with Yujin at the start of the season, but Sana noticed how the three naturally stick together during the briefest moments of respite. Yena can be a bit shy around the seniors but she knows how to read the field as well as how Momo does. Eunbi leads the scrimmage, which means that the juniors follow her lead. If Yujin can continue being friends with the two, she might just get her own Jihyo and Momo.

 

Sana never doubted the bond created under shared pain. She went through the same thing with Jihyo and Momo. And if these three manage to stay together until the end of the season, then maybe Yujin can have real friends from the team.

 

The whistle blows and the whole team disperses into their own smaller groups. Sana was satisfied with how Yujin walked off the field with Yena and Eunbi in tow. Meanwhile, she finally reunites with her own friends and begins talking about what they need to do in the next game.

 

Up in the bleachers, Dahyun watched Sana talk to her friends. It has been a while since she stayed behind after council meetings just so she could wait for Sana to finish practice. And so, for people who were close to Sana, seeing Dahyun in this place came as a welcome change of pace.

 

“I kinda missed seeing you here.” a soft voice came from behind. Dahyun glances over her shoulder and sees Mina and Nayeon approach her from the higher levels.

 

“Hi.” Dahyun waved and flashed a warm smile, much to the appreciation of the two. Unlike Sana’s ex, the cheerleaders knew that the smile wasn’t fake. “With the stunt that Sana pulled in the last game, I felt that I should be here to support her.”

 

The two cheerleaders smiled in agreement. It was quiet after that, and considering that Mina brought Nayeon with her, she was kinda expecting for the two to be at each other’s necks by now.

 

“Just you today?” Mina asked.

 

“Yeah.” Dahyun sighed. “We won’t be seeing Chaeyoung here anytime soon. Or ever. I don’t know.” there was an obvious hint of worry in the president’s tone. “I know that Tzuyu meant well but Chae.. she’s been through a lot.”

 

“Jihyo told me that it was Nancy’s idea.” Nayeon folded her arms loosely under her chest. “So I really do hope that you have something planned for her.”

 

“I am not so sure about having plans.” Dahyun gazed towards where the cheerleaders congregated. “Afterall, you guys did vote for me as president. And as president, I’m pretty sure I can’t hatch plans against other people. We’re not a dictatorship.”

 

Mina can’t seem to place it, but there is something wrong between Dahyun’s words and how she looked at the group of cheerleaders and athletes. She’s not sure on who Dahyun was looking at in particular, but she seemed like a predator looking for her prey.

 

“Dahyun, I really wish that you’d forgot being a nerd sometimes. It will do marvels in your life.” Nayeon tried to convince the president but Dahyun just laughed at this and turned her attention to her girlfriend instead. They were walking towards their side of the field, with the three of them joking around.

 

Then, a chorus of howling and cheering came from the other side of the field, and just like what Sana saw that one time, Dahyun watched Nancy and Yeonwoo make out. It was a show that made the other students look, including Sana who quickly averted her gaze away.

 

Mina carefully spied how Dahyun stared at Sana’s reaction to all of this.

 

“That’s nothing.” Mina tried to cover up Sana’s reaction. “Don’t read too much into it.”

 

“No.” Dahyun nodded solemnly. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.” Then, just like earlier, Mina noticed Dahyun’s eyes moving back to Nancy’s group and stares at them like how a lion looks at a gazelle. It was fleeting, though. Almost too quickly that if one glances away, they’d wouldn’t notice Dahyun’s eyes.

 

But things aren’t as bitter now, because when Sana scanned the bleachers, she saw a welcoming sight of Dahyun waving at her together with their cheerleader friends. There was an excited smile in Sana’s lips, and as much as Dahyun wanted to deny it, she missed that look on Sana’s face.

 

The day ends how it’s supposed to end, with Dahyun driving them both home, and the car being filled with stories that were just waiting to be shared.

 

Sana watched Dahyun. Watched how the president worked her way around the dashboard like she’s been here far too many times. She watched how they both descended into easy conversations about their plans for the days ahead, plans to fix their friends, and plans for things that involved the Guide. The windshield became their TV, the car seats became their couch, and the car became Dahyun’s living room where they talk about anything and everything.

 

Sana can’t help but think that maybe, after the days of not being with Kim Dahyun, they’ve finally got through their first big fight.

 

“I know who we’ll hit on Saturday.” Dahyun taps her finger on the steering wheel in a remarkably calm rhythm.

 

“It’s not Nancy, is it?” Sana yawns, quite spent for the day. Dahyun notices this, and just rubs her thumb under Sana’s eye. Sana just lets her, and it reminded her of how much she missed Dahyun being like this to her. Meanwhile, Dahyun ponders about ending the day early so Sana could rest.

 

“Nope.” Dahyun shakes her head. “We’ll leave her all alone.”

 

“Okay.” Sana nods. “Jihyo knows, by the way.”

 

“That’s fine. She’s your best friend.”

 

“Does Jeongyeon know?”

 

“No.” Dahyun was back again at tapping her finger on the steering wheel.

 

“Why?” Sana asked. There was a short pause, and an audible deep sigh before Dahyun turned to Sana and spoke.

 

“Because they will try to stop me.”

  
 

///

  
 

Matterhorn vs. Atteridge

 

The final whistle blows and the team engulf’s Yujin in a hug. She tried to climb her way out but knowing how badly they wanted to get through the playoffs, Yujin lets herself be consumed by the team’s celebration.

 

Sana played in the first half, then she pushed Yujin to play the next. Together with Coach Lee, Sana made sure that Yujin won’t have anyone to rescue her in case she fumbles. That when she is faced with a mistakes, she should be able to correct them by trusting herself and the people playing with her. Yujin wasn’t perfect yet, but she has shown great promise tonight. The juniors, most especially.

 

But Sana got no time for celebrations. And while the students of Atteridge passed the word around for a party, Sana placed strict orders for the team not to attend. It was expected, looking back at the events that unfolded during the last bonfire party. But it is also this same party that made Sana go home in a hurry.

 

~

 

Dahyun told her dad that there’s going to be a party. Her dad allowed her to go, of course, as long as she promises not to drink and drive, and that she and her friends stayed out of trouble. A promise that she intends to keep.

 

Sana picked her up that evening, on her front door, dressed in black pants and a black hoodie. Dahyun dressed pretty much the same, except for the red hoodie, then she quickly got in Sana’s jeep as if in a hurry. Dahyun turns her wrist to check the time, they have about two hours to get the show on the road. But first, they need to switch cars.

 

“Red?! Really?” Sana asked.

 

“We’re gonna change later! Just drive!” Dahyun clicked her seatbelt in place and fished her phone out of her pocket.

 

First stop — Jo “Harvard Jo” Haseul.

 

“Harvard.” Dahyun nodded once to greet the figure sitting on the hood of a truck. She has her big round glasses on, her hair tied in a messy bun, with the upper half of her garage coverall stripped, sleeves tied around her slim waist. If one hasn’t talked to her about cars, they would ever think that she fixes one. Or that she’s a big nerd at school, playing card games or DnD.

 

“Dahyun.” Haseul smiled, then turned to the quarterback when she noticed her approach. “Ah, Sana. Great game tonight.”

 

“Thanks,” Sana smiled. “Not going to the party?”

 

“I don’t belong there.” Haseul jumps off from the hood, stones crackling under her feet. “And I think that’s the reason why we are all here tonight. Besides, I have a deal with some people. Here.'' She tosses a car key towards Dahyun, but goes a bit higher than she anticipated. Dahyun makes a small jump to catch them. “Park your car in the corner so I can cover it. And guys?”

 

Dahyun and Sana turned to Haseul, making the both of them a bit nervous about what's going to happen.

 

“Make them pay.”

 

~

 

Dahyun and Sana drove north and into a suburb half an hour from downtown. Sana has been here before, considering the ton of high school parties that she’s been to, some of which were held in the house of some people from the basketball team. It was still a bit early when they arrived at the area, but Sana had already chosen a spot where they could stake out. It’s the same spot where she smoked weed when she was still hanging out with Nancy’s clique.

 

Thinking about it now, she’s beginning to think how she survived these people. Then, she’d remember that once upon a time, she’s exactly the type of person who Dahyun and her friends avoided.

 

They chose the spot near an isolated second hand car dealership that sold old cars. That is, if the definition of old cars were broadened to include chassis with wheels.

 

Sana turned off the engine and pulled her sleeves to reveal her watch. It’s about a quarter before 8PM. For the most part of the stake out, Dahyun was quiet, except for when she pulls out her phone to check for messages. The wait was excruciatingly long, with the quiet minutes passing slowly like the last fifteen minutes of Math class.

 

Then, just before the clock strikes 8:30, Dahyun's phone lit up. She opened it, but took only less than a minute when she had to drop her hands on her lap as she gave out a pained squeal.

 

“Fuck!” Dahyun gritted her teeth and fanned her cheek. Then, Sana leaned over the center console as Dahyun angled the screen so Sana could read. Sana’s reaction came faster than Dahyun’s but it was pretty much the same.

 

“Fuck?!” but Sana was laughing. “Okay. I don’t know who that is, but if their information is solid, I’m not sure if I’m gonna be impressed or downright —.”

 

“Out of the car!” Dahyun commanded, with Sana laughing louder this time.

 

They were both in a generic utility coverall of a darker shade that came with the car. Then they both tied each other’s hair in a clean bun before putting on identical beanies. It felt awfully like a robbery, especially when Dahyun whipped something over Sana’s chest. It was rubbery, and unusually colorful.

 

“That’s for later.” Dahyun said as she donned her gloves.

 

They quietly skipped and jogged towards a house where Jackson Wang’s car was parked, craftily moving from one cover to another. The house was still dark, fortunately, telling both of them that Jackson’s parents weren’t around. But as for the basketball boy, though, the bright light from the TV in his room was glowing out from the window.

 

They went around the house and stopped at the backdoor. Sana pressed her ear against it and when she was convinced that no one was on the other side, she turned to Dahyun with their noses almost touching.

 

“Ready?” Sana whispers.

 

“If the message is true, then maybe no.”

 

“Perfect.” Sana smirks and Dahyun wishes that she stopped doing that. Good thing Sana’s features were hidden after the quarterback pulled her mask down. It was a clown. Not the cute one, but the one with a creepily contorted face and a smile so grotesque, it could instantly give nightmares to kids aged nine and below.

 

Dahyun proceeded to open the window and watched Sana wriggle in and disappear into the other side. It didn’t take too long before a clown faced Sana pops up from the window, almost startling Dahyun. She pulled the president into the house carefully, making sure that creaky wooden noises were pushed to the minimum.

 

They carefully meandered into the house, taking exaggerated slow steps to help their eyes adjust in the darkness. They only have a few minutes to do this before Jackson leaves for the party, and so they quickly snuck towards where the moaning noises were coming from.

 

“Jesus.” Dahyun shook her head. Her mask was as scary as Sana’s but it was kinda cute that it didn’t match Dahyun’s voice.

 

“I hope you’re ready to witness some really sick shit.” Sana slowly turned the knob and Dahyun took her phone out to max out the volume. “On my mark.”

 

“One.”

 

Dahyun felt like vomiting her beating heart out from her chest.

 

“Two.”

 

She tightens her fingers around her phone as she positioned herself for a sprint.

 

“Three.”

 

Sana swung the door open and flashed out her phone to run the video while Dahyun played a ghastly shrieking sound from her device. In an instant, the room erupted with, what Sana could only describe as, inhumanely high pitched screams of a bitch.

 

They knew they’d be catching Jackson with his boxers down on his ankles and his dick wrapped in his hand, but what they didn’t expect was the unusually lewd cartoon ponies on TV.

 

“What the fuck?!” Sana almost screamed as she aimed her phone to the TV screen, then back to the boy who was still screaming and jumping around like a bitch. In his defense, there are two scary looking clowns barging into his room and they appear to be shrieking like cursed demonic clowns coming for his soul.

 

In the whirlwind of fear and confusion, Jackson didn’t know if he’s gonna let go of his dick, or turn off the TV, or pull his boxers up. He chose to run outside the room though, and with the rolling thuds that came after, Sana knew that he should’ve pulled his boxers up instead.

 

They quickly followed him down the house, the crazy shrieking still echoing. Jackson barges out to the front door, spilling out on the curb still naked and afraid. Sana made sure she caught all of those in cam before taking Dahyun by the hand to lead her out of the back door.

 

They sprinted back to where they came from and quickly jumped into their truck. Sana started the engine while Dahyun pulled off her mask, and unzips her coverall.

 

“Holy fuck!” Dahyun was wriggling in disgust. “What the fucking hell?! I need to wash my eyes!”

 

“Your plan was to catch him doing something embarrassing! And your tip told you that he’s currently jacking off. What the fucking hell did you expect?! A guy praying the rosary?” Sana was laughing as she reviewed the clip.

 

“I wasn’t expecting the damn cartoons, Sana! Okay?!”

 

“That was the crowning glory of this expedition, baby.”

 

“Can you just fucking drive?!” Dahyun punches Sana’s shoulder, and just like that they were gone from the scene like thieves in the night.

 

~

 

The truck pulls up into Haseul’s auto repair garage a quarter after nine.

 

Their benefactor was sitting just outside the garage office, sipping from a cold bottle of soda while her other hand was busy turning the page of a fantasy novel. The sound of footsteps made her look up, and judging by the smirk on Sana’s face, Haseul thinks that her participation is worth it.

 

“Got what you wanted?” Haseul asked and Sana just showed the video in response. “What the fuck?! Get that off my face! Fuck!” she took off her glasses and started fanning her eyes. “The image is burning in my head!”

 

“That’s just the feeling of justice doing its thing!” Sana boasted. “Calm down!”

 

It took a while before Haseul got back to her senses. It was only then where they began concluding their arrangements. They uploaded the video into a temporary cloud that Haseul personally secured. Haseul knew about VPNs and IP bouncing but Dahyun was much more focused about Haseul’s commitment to be quiet about all of these. Not even a word to Chaeyoung or to Jeongyeon, or any of her friends for that matter. Haseul agreed to this, but she didn’t agree when Sana wanted to keep the masks as souvenirs. Everything must be burned, as Haseul insisted. The gloves, the coveralls, the masks. All of these must be disposed of and should be forgotten like the trapped underworldly denizens in the novels she read.

 

“Thanks, Dahyun.” Haseul takes in the president for a hug. “Really.”

 

It was strange, Sana thought. Haseul treated Dahyun like a masked hero. Someone who risks themselves in the defense of those who cannot defend themselves. It might be some prank for her and Dahyun, but for Haseul and the others, it’s justice that was denied to them repeatedly. Sana doesn’t know what Chaeyoung would feel about this, but she wished that it can bring her some feeling of atonement.

 

“You shall never speak of my involvement in this, ever again. Understood?” Haseul reiterated before letting go of Dahyun.

 

“Understood. Thanks again, Harvard.” Dahyun smiles as she gave Haseul a small wave before the couple set off.

 

~

 

They took the freeway going back to Downtown, hoping to get home before the video gets uploaded. And while the shit they pulled was the kind of story that you’d tell your kids, they were both satisfied with the silent presence of each other. The streetlights arching over the road zipped like small spaceships racing against them in the opposite direction. The windows were rolled down, the engine was humming quietly, and a song was playing faintly in the background. Shimmering city lights from the distance were like low stars of different colors, moving closer and closer for every minute that passed.

 

Sana and Dahyun never knew what happened in the party, although they have speculated that Jackson never showed up. Tomorrow, when all the kids are at home, they will be treated to a video that will spread in school like wildfire.

 

Dahyun can’t help it, but the idea of it brings a smile to her face. For the first time after a long while she felt giddy about a risk that she took. It almost tasted like the morning after she woke up beside Sana, half naked and cold. And while these are two different things entirely, for some reason, Dahyun felt the same thrill, the same fear, and the same excitement.

 

And somehow, the winds tonight felt like the waves of the raging sea crashing down upon her with the seafoam kissing her skin.

 

“Sana. This night shouldn’t end soon.” Dahyun finally breaks through the warm silence. “I don’t want to go home yet.”

 

Sana can’t tell why, but the idea of spending the rest of the night with Dahyun made her heart melt into a puddle.

 

~

 

They stopped by the first place that witnessed the idea that is Sana and Dahyun. Five Points, the fish market that was surrounded by mom and pop’s stores and other specialty shops. It’s been a while since they last went here, considering the amount of extracurriculars they were involved in.

 

Just as Sana promised, they tried this new boba milk tea place that Dahyun has been pinning about. The line was pretty long for some reason but they didn’t mind. The long wait gave Dahyun an excuse to wrap her arm around Sana and with her other hand locking fingers with the other. Haseul might be having nightmares with what she saw, but Dahyun and Sana forgot about the prank entirely.

 

Because the moment they stepped in line, Dahyun whispered to Sana, “I’m not sure about you, but I think I’m gonna take you on a date tonight.”

 

And so they talked about what people talked about in dates, which is not really different from what people talk about on the daily. Mundane things about likes and dislikes, anecdotes about things that they love or don’t love. Favorite songs. Favorite movies. Favorite anything, actually.

 

There was a short argument over what size and how many servings they’d order. They ended up with two servings, with Dahyun getting the smaller one. But after a few more conversations and several minutes later, it was Dahyun who was holding the bigger tumbler while Sana was holding none.

 

“I have a question.” Sana said.

 

“Go, shoot.” Dahyun sucks on the straw and fills her cheek with sweet and chewy tapioca balls.

 

“Why did you order the smaller one if you knew you’re gonna finish a larger one?” Sana frowns and shakes her head, and while she felt robbed of the drink that was rightfully hers, she was rewarded with Dahyun’s warm smile and upside down crescent eyes. Then suddenly, she’s okay with Dahyun stealing from her. “But seriously, though. What we did to Jackson, how are we different from them?”

 

“I am not going to lie.” Dahyun began. “What we did to him was hella funny and is technically bullying. But we only did it because we were pushed.”

 

“So what happened to upholding scholastic values?” Sana leans her weight on Dahyun to playfully mock her and everything her office stood for.

 

“The scholastic values are very much alive, Captain Minatozaki.” Then it was Dahyun’s turn to lean against Sana’s direction to push her to stand upright. “But this is the high school jungle. We’re not just going to roll over and die. At some point, the herd would have to stand up for each other to drive away the wolves.”

 

“That’s a good point.” Sana nods.

 

“What do you mean that’s a good point? I always make good points, Sana.”

 

“Not with finishing my own drink, Miss President.” Sana laughs and Dahyun just pretended to bite Sana’s shoulder to shut her up.

 

~

 

They can’t remember how their conversation branched out but they found themselves talking about life after high school while sharing a late dinner in a small Korean restaurant. Sana especially liked the kimbap, but she can’t tell if it’s just because Dahyun recommended it. It should be noted at this moment, however, that Dahyun didn’t order dessert because she claimed earlier that she was already full. So one could only imagine Sana’s face when Dahyun carved off a chunk from Sana’s patbingsu.

 

“Are you gonna go for a football scholarship for college?” Dahyun dabs the napkin on her lips, and Sana thinks that her argument for dessert was lost a long time ago already.

 

“Yeah.” Sana nods about, but when she noticed Dahyun’s calculating look, she knew that Dahyun is not convinced. “I mean, I’d like to try other things in college besides football.”

 

“Are your parents okay with that?”

 

“Not particularly.”

 

“Your dad?”

 

“Yeah.” Sana nods, a bit more affirmative this time. “I have a feeling that he’d push me to play in college. I think he’s kind of expecting it.”

 

“But what about you? Do you like to play in college?” Dahyun asked, taking in another spoonful of shaved ice. Sana just giggles but it quickly subsides. It just dawned on her that she never had to answer these kinds of questions back then, especially when she dated her ex. It felt weirdly liberating when someone actually gives a shit about how she felt.

 

“Football is fun. I’m not gonna lie.” Sana pokes around the mound of milky ice. “But it takes a lot of work. It’s double-practice in the summer. Afternoon practices everyday after school. Then there’s the season games and playoffs. It’s manageable now because it’s high school, but come college, I don’t know if I could like.. I don’t know. Live like a normal student. And I don’t even want to be a pro.”

 

“You don’t want to be popular anymore?” Dahyun snickered.

 

“That’s a new world, Dahyun. A whole new world to discover. And what you need in there is time.” Sana pointed her spoon at Dahyun and they both laughed. “How about you? Where are you going to get your pre-med? You mentioned that you might go into UNEE for medicine, you know, like all Asians.”

 

All of a sudden, Dahyun was quiet, her attention tuned to the task of chipping the ice from the milky mound.

 

“I.. I haven’t thought about that yet.” she glanced up for a quick second and forced out a half smile.

 

“Wait. You’re the president. You’re like one of those who’d ace their essays and get to an Ivy League school. You guys got your whole life planned!” Sana tried to make Dahyun laugh but was also confused why she suddenly felt sad about the possibility of them not going to the same school.

 

“Hey, are you done?” Dahyun dodged the point altogether with a chuckle, then points at the almost finished patbingsu.

 

“I think I should be the one asking you that. Are you finished eating my dessert?” Sana laughed, making Dahyun adorably shy all of a sudden. But what was not adorable was the kick in the shin.

 

“Fine! I’ll buy you another dessert, okay? Come on.”

 

~

 

While their main mission was to get something sweet for Sana, they ended up hopping from one store to another. They checked the goods, or to be more exact, played with them. Dahyun forced Sana to try on stupid novelty items like funky shades or fancy wigs. They had a good laugh about how stupid they looked before moving on to another store. They went to a stationery store for Dahyun’s notebook and sticker needs. Then, they went to a sporting goods store for Sana’s training needs. Inch by inch, it’s a tug of war of bringing each other into their own worlds. Glimpse of who they are and the world that they move around in. They did what normal couples do, arms around each other and even holding hands.

 

Especially holding hands, with fingers locked.

 

On the east end of the street, a small patch of open space became home to nightly fairground games. Booths of skill games lined the area, with prizes filling the shelves like no one has ever won anything. Identical prizes wrapped in plastic, and looking like they’ve been there a year. Sana would’ve passed by all of those booths with no problem but Dahyun made an adorable giggly squeal when she pointed at a skill game with giant Shiba Inu dog plushie as their prize.

 

“Oh my god, it’s you!” she tugged on Sana’s sleeve then all of a sudden, Sana had the itch to win.

 

It should be easy. Throwing a ball to topple all tumblers at the same to exact. Easy task for a quarterback. But seven balls after, Dahyun was already cupping Sana’s face and pulling it closer to hers. Tips of their nose almost touching, and Dahyun playfully scolded Sana that they don’t have any money left.

 

“Sana! We’re gonna be broke!” Dahyun held Sana’s face in place.

 

“Just one more, baby. I promise!” Sana insisted.

 

“No! Enough!” Dahyun giggles, trying to turn Sana’s face towards her when the other girl was turning to the stands once more.

 

“Trust me! One last!” Sana holds onto Dahyun’s hands and squeezes them. Dahyun finally lets go of Sana, and painfully watched her pay for another try.

 

It wasn’t just a ‘one last’, or at least it is if ‘one last’ included two more tries. But none of that matters to Sana when they found themselves walking back to the car because the plushie is so damn big to walk around with. They never went back to Five Points after that. Instead, they drove up to where Jeongyeon brought Sana and her friends.

 

That night with Jeongyeon, Sana made a mental promise to bring Dahyun here so they could get to try the food together. But with dinner already done, they settled with a blueberry crepe and a sundae.

 

They took a spot on the far corner of the lot, close to the edge of the hill with the good view of the suburbs below. It felt like watching the sky with the house lights and street lights glimmering like stars. Everything seemed far — the pressure from what’s expected of them both, the events of the bonfire, the revenge prank, the possible reprisals for their actions. It felt like those things will never breach the bubble of their moment. And they stayed here, in this moment, with Sana watching Dahyun as the president casts her gaze out into the sea of lights.

 

The comfortable silence swirled into the space between them, lulling them both into the presence of each other, like planets helplessly waltzing around and closer into a star. The star being the unlikely friendship that blossomed between them.

 

It was at this moment of stepping into each other’s walls when Sana reached into Dahyun. There was an issue that she has long ignored, and it was never brought up in their conversations.

 

“Dahyun.” Sana calls out to her softly. Dahyun turns to Sana, and almost immediately, Sana felt she was getting lost in Dahyun’s eyes. “Can I ask you something? That is, if you don’t mind me asking.”

 

“I’ve finished your sundae, so I think it’s only fair.” Dahyun shrugged, both of them laughing at how Dahyun kept stealing food from Sana.

 

Sana opened her mouth to speak, then shut them close. A brief silence passed, and Sana jumped in.

 

“Your mom.” Sana began, quickly sensing Dahyun tensing up. “Where is she?”

 

Dahyun shifts on her chair, takes a lungful of cold night air, before exhaling out every bit of stinging sadness inside her. Sana had to notice her absence one way or the other.

 

“She died. Right before I transferred to Atteridge.” Dahyun said, surprising herself that she found it easier to say it this time. If it was because of Sana, she doesn’t know.

 

“Oh.” Sana’s shoulders sank. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

 

“No, no, no. It’s fine.” Dahyun smiled in hopes that Sana would be more comfortable once more. “You were just asking something obvious and actually, I’d like to thank you for keeping the question in as long as you did.”

 

“Still.” Sana insisted. “I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

The quiet humming of the world and the distant chatter of people flooded into the silence. It didn’t feel awkward or threatening. It felt like floating over a calm sea, waiting for the currents to push them back to shore.

 

“Were you close with her?” Sana continued.

 

“Yeah. I mean, we have a strained relationship at times but that’s normal, I guess? Angsty teens wanting to be right all the damn time while doing whatever shit they want. Things like that.” Dahyun chuckled. “Dad said my mom and I were really alike. And I would like to think that we are.”

 

“I bet she’s a good person, then.”

 

“She is.” Dahyun nods solemnly. “That’s why I could only hope that we’re alike.”

 

“But you are a good person.” Sana reached for Dahyun’s hand. She didn’t take it, though. Instead, she gently drew circles over Dahyun’s skin. It was Dahyun who stopped Sana, holding her hands and making sure that their fingers fit perfectly.

 

The president didn’t refute Sana anymore. Just like how she dismissed the topic of college, she lets go of this topic to the wind. Sana, too, lets it go.

 

“How about you?” Dahyun finally speaks. “What happened between you and Nancy?” The moment Dahyun said the name, Sana looks down and keeps on a laughing smile.

 

“I don’t know.” It was Sana’s turn to look at the expanse of the sea of city lights. Hands still linked, she rubbed her thumb gently over Dahyun’s skin, letting it’s cadence calm her thoughts into something she could express. “She’s everybody’s dream girl.”

 

Dahyun took the chance to ponder on Sana’s words. While she’s not denying the innate attractiveness of Nancy, she sometimes wondered how it felt to be someone’s dream girl. The closest thing she got for an admirer was when she got a note in Valentine’s two years ago. It felt great to receive one until she learned it was from her teacher. She was just making sure that everyone got one.

 

“We hit it off two summers ago, and we started dating during junior year.” Sana continued. “About the same time, Yeonwoo transferred in the middle of the year and things quickly went downhill from there. She accused me of cheating when she was the one spending nights in Yeonwoo’s place. But of course, instead of getting dumped by your dream girl, you suck it up and ask her to stay. The funny thing was, it was exactly what she wanted me to do.”

 

“To beg?”

 

“To beg.” Sana confirms. “As the captain of the team and one of the coolest people in school, that summer reduced me into a nothing but a puppy begging to be let in. Mina knew she was trouble. Jihyo, too.”

 

“But you didn’t listen to them because it felt good dating your dream girl.” Dahyun followed the breadcrumbs of thoughts. Sana just chuckled at how quickly Dahyun pieced it together. But she is one of the smartest people in school, so it was kind of expected. She turned to Dahyun and sighed.

 

“Do you think I was stupid?”

 

“No.” Dahyun laughed, and Sana did too when she felt like Dahyun was just saving her dignity. “But I’ll tell you what. You have good friends.”

 

“They are your friends too.” Sana stopped rubbing her thumb over Dahuyn’s skin.

 

“I’m sorry that you’re stuck with someone that’s not your dream girl. But a deal’s a deal.” Dahyun said, clinging onto the last vestiges of being someone’s someone. It’s okay if she’s not Sana’s dream girl. It’s okay if they only stay as friends. It’s okay if Sana dates anyone else after all of this is done. Dahyun never dreamed beyond the deal, and the only thing that Dahyun carries with her in all of this is the fact that she felt what it’s like to be dating someone.

 

Sana has been a good friend to her, and even if there are times when she would catch herself staring at Sana longer than she should or when her heart beats faster in unsuspecting times, Dahyun is content that she was making memories of her own.

 

“I never complained about having you as a girlfriend. Just so we’re clear.” Sana shifts and turns to Dahyun. She reaches her free hand into the space between them and tapped Dahyun’s nose. The president winced at the touch but didn’t flinch away from it. Sana and shit she says, Dahyun thought. And that was totally fine. “I’ve been wanting to ask you this, though.”

 

“I thought we’ve reached the point where you just get to ask whatever.” Dahyun comments on the number of questions Sana was holding back.

 

“Can you stop being so snarky. I am going to bite you.” still holding Dahyun’s hand, Sana takes it closer to her mouth and pretends to bite it. Dahyun squeals and pulls away, but none of them seems too interested to let go. “Like.. hypothetically.”

 

Disclaimers. They are convenient as they are frightening.

 

“Hypothetically.” pressed her fingers into her chest. “If you happen to like.. seriously like me. Why would you?”

 

“You’re stupid and you’re annoying, but you fight for your friends it if comes to that. Even if it comes at the cost of yourself.” Dahyun said, without pondering or hesitating. The honesty of it surprised Sana since she was thinking about being hot, or being pretty. Strangely, it made her feel good about herself. “How about me? Hypothetically.”

 

Disclaimers. They give a false sense of invincibility when faced with the idea of rejection. But Dahyun was honest in her answer, and with that, Sana should too.

 

“You have a way of making people feel that they matter.” Sana stares right into Dahyun’s eyes. “And you make people feel comfortable about themselves.”

 

Dahyun doesn’t speak. She wanted to but no words were coming to her. She doesn’t know what to make of Sana’s answer. Except that maybe at some point of their complicated relationship, they are, without even knowing, paying attention to each other like how people in a relationship should.

 

It was the buzzing of Dahyun’s phone that broke her from her thoughts. It was only then that she got to check the time, and it says 11:35 PM. She took the call, finally breaking off all physical connections with Sana, and the quarterback was quickly thrown into the realization of how much she wanted to feel Dahyun’s skin against hers.

 

She could only watch in cautious anticipation when Dahyun conversed through the phone. It was her dad, and with Dahyun’s answers, Sana knew that it’s only about time.

 

“It’s time to go, Sana. My dad’s looking for me.”

 

The night is finally coming to an end.

 

~

 

[ (song cue) ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-UnzRM24IM)

 

Sana would’ve taken the longer route, but time is not on their side. She drove on the fastest safest speed with the windows rolled down and the city lights pouring in on them from the outside.

 

Dahyun’s arms were folded over the car’s window sill, with her chin perched on it. Her dirty blonde hair flew with the rushing wind, revealing the profile of her features bathed in freeway light. Whenever Sana glances at the side mirror, she’d spy on Dahyun. She’d take as much of her hidden magnificence before looking back straight ahead.

 

She can’t tell if it’s because she has spent an awful lot of time with Dahyun, that her preferences had adhered to her aspects. Sana would blame herself sometimes, that maybe she was just looking at others too much that she never noticed how beautiful Dahyun could be — in her innocence, naivety, resilience, and sincerity.

 

She shook off the thoughts and focused on the task at hand. And when she reached for her phone to change the song, she felt warm skin wrapping over her hand.

 

“No. Wait. I like this song.”

 

And just like all the things that Sana allowed Dahyun to do, she lets Dahyun push her hand down. It held on her fingers for a while, then released them when Sana had to shift gears. The drive was quiet now. The humming city and the rushing wind consuming their senses while the city in the distance treats them to a spectacle of glittering lights.

 

Sana knew that this night was something else. She could blame it on their honest hearts and the stories they shared with each other, but she was convinced that the both of them, together, stepped over an unknown line that defined something beyond what they have. And she thinks that Dahyun felt it too. Especially on how she closed her eyes to the song and how she held up her hand as if to catch the wind between her fingers.

 

~

 

They stopped in front of Dahyun’s house just like always. Dahyun gets off and Sana walks her to the door just like always. But what set this night apart from all the nights they spent together is when Dahyun spoke in hushed tones, reminding Sana to message her when she gets home.

 

Dahyun hung her wrists on Sana’s shoulder, looking into the captain’s eyes like she’s never looked in them enough.

 

“Thank you, Sana.” Dahyun’s voice was uncharacteristically warm and soft, “I really had a great time.”

 

“So, you’d cross off the dating part in the Infinite Year?” Sana chuckles as she gave in to the inexplicable urge to softly knock their foreheads together. Dahyun receives the gesture quite generously, wincing a bit to anticipate the pain that never came.

 

“No.” Dahyun dismisses. “I asked you out tonight, remember? Unless you’ve given up on the list and me altogether.”

 

“Oh, you bet I will, baby girl.”

 

“Drive safe.”

 

“I will.” Sana sighs at the seemingly short time that they were together. “I’ll message you when I get home.”

 

Dahyun nods and finally, the goodbyes are complete. But with how Sana held Dahyun close by the waist and how Dahyun’s fingers clasp on the back of Sana’s neck, it would seem that they both didn’t want the night to end just like so.

 

In moments like these, when everything is bathed by starlight and hearts are bit riskier than in mornings, it is easier to let the lips proclaim one’s feelings. Not by words, but by receiving the gift from one another. Dahyun tilts her chin up a bit, their noses almost touching. Dream glazed eyes met hers, and the loud beating in her chest was screaming what she has to do.

 

They inched closer ever so gently, measuring if one would give in to the desires of another. Sana feels Dahyun tense up and Sana feels the nervousness quickly taking over her senses.

 

Then, when the warmth of Dahyun’s breath grazed softly on Sana’s lips, they were both engulfed by a bright light.

 

“Dahyun, is that you?” a voice from behind the door approached. They snapped back to moment, letting go of their dreamlike states before straightening themselves up. The door opens, and it was Sana who greets Mr. Kim first.

 

“Good evening Mr. Kim. I’m so sorry we’re out so late.” Sana takes a deep polite bow.

 

“It’s fine. As long as you’re not drinking while driving, and you bring Dahyun home on time. Which is..” Mr. Kim flipped her wrist and checked his watch. “.. in five minutes. Congratulations, Sana. You get to take my daughter out again.”

 

“Appa.” Dahyun whined as she pushed his dad back inside the house.

 

“Good night, Mr. Kim.” Sana bows again and waves. “Good night, Dahyun.”

 

“Message me when you get home.” Dahyun hugs her dad’s arm and gives a small shy wave. “I luf you.”

 

And damn, it was the first time Dahyun ever said that before Sana. The moment was cut short, but there’s a reason to be hopeful. She just wishes that things don’t get weird once the new week starts.

 

“I luf you, too.” Sana gives Dahyun a warm smile before going to her car.

 

Sana didn’t sleep immediately that night. Because that night, she learns again how it feels to be helpless to the thought of wanting to see someone so so bad.

 

///

  
 

Sunday afternoon was spent playing games in Jeongyeon’s house, which is a treat for everyone because Seungyeon is home for the weekend. She’s attending UNEE and would always go home for the weekend because she wanted to eat real food. This meant that she’d cook for Jeongyeon’s friends and even treat them with beer.

 

The day was especially crazy too since Hyewon decided to show up. She often misses Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung’s game schedules but this time, she made sure that she gets to join the session. Chaeyoung knew that the junior was doing it for her, but instead of sulking about how much of a burden it must be for Hyewon, she just basked in the feeling that not everyone in Atteridge is bad.

 

“What the hell? Yoo Jeongyeon!” Hyewon kicked Jeongyeon, making everyone laugh. “Why, why, why are you so bad at this? Chae, cut them off through Sector C. I’ll take the other side. Here! Here! Here! No! No! Leave Jeongyeon, we’re gonna get killed in there!”

 

“Kwangbae!” Jeongyeon screams. “Why does it have to be like this?”

 

“You were running around Sector A like a headless duck!”

 

“I was tactically distracting the enemies! An effort that I feel is not being appreciated, but why don’t we let the past be the past?”

 

“You were distracting the enemy for the past five respawns!” Hyewon kicks Jeongyeon again.

 

Dahyun was amused at how Hyewon’s meekness and aloofness at school didn’t match how she shouted and cursed, but she let the banter go back and forth between her officers. The important thing is Chaeyoung is having fun and they’re eating nacho cheese fries a bit later.

 

When the round ends, Jeongyeon runs to her phone (because phones are not allowed while playing) and began typing on her messenger app.

 

“Reporting to your girlfriend?” Seungyeon calls her out as she brought some drinks to the group. Jeongyeon tenses up and shoots a seemingly panicked gaze at her older sister. The walls felt like they were closing in when Jeongyeon’s peripheral spies her friends staring at her as well. “So.. not your girlfriend? Do you even have a girlfriend, Jeongyeon?”

 

Hyewon laughed out loud and clapped her hands, letting the tension subside into nothing.

 

“I will make your life a living hell!” Jeongyeon pretends to lunge at Hyewon, and the junior quickly cowers behind Chaeyoung. Then, Jeongyeon was back to swiping about her phone. At this moment, Dahyun’s phone buzzes, as well as Hyewon’s. And while the two checked their notifications, Jeongyeon was already laughing out loud.

 

“Holy fucking hell?” Jeongyeon turns her phone towards the crowd, her sister even leaning in then quickly regrets it. There were sounds of commotion and a person who can only be described as screaming like a bitch.

 

“What the fuck?! Jeongyeon!”

 

Dahyun didn’t need to see what Jeongyeon was showing because Dahyun was there the night. She checked the message she got, and slowly, a smile forms on her lips.

 

**[Annoying Shibe Sana]:**

On Monday, stare at him from afar and smirk.

Make him believe that it was us.

 

Dahyun presses the phone on her lips and laughs to herself.

  
 

///

  
 

The school was a buzz with the latest gossip being passed from one person to another, and from one group to another. They were speaking of the same news that gripped the scholastic body one Sunday afternoon, heralded by a video clip that went around their social media.

 

While the students were reduced to whispering and giggling bubbles, Dahyun and Sana waltz into the hallways, laughing at their own private jokes and their usual stupid banter. They passed by Haseul and greeted her like an old friend, making sure that they never forgot what Haseul did to make the vengeance prank possible.

 

In the field, the basketball boys congregated like huddled apes who beat their chest. There were pockets of phrases about who they need to beat up, but when Jackson turns his back, some of his teammates hunch around and over a phone, giggling and laughing in hushed tones.

 

From afar, Jackson sees Dahyun watching him. Sana’s arm was around her shoulders and she was looking at him as well. They had this smirk on their faces that somehow told him that they had something to do about this. But the annoying thing about it is he doesn’t have any evidence to support his desperate accusation, and if he moves to threaten the both of them, the rest of the video will be released. Kids’ cartoons are harmless, they said. Obviously, they haven’t met someone who’s jacking off to them.

 

Safe to say, Sana and Dahyun threw Jackson out of commission, and he will be learning this lesson the hard way.

 

“No, eww.” Nancy pointed specifically to Jackson as the basketball boys approached the cheer team. “Seriously, dude? You’re gonna hang out here after the shit you pulled? Like the literal shit you pulled?”

 

Everyone laughed at Jackson’s face. Even JB and Mark did, just to show their allegiance to the queen, but they were quick to wipe off their smiles when Jackson looked at them. It felt painful to be ostracized by the same people he considered as friends, but Dahyun could only share a few words to him: “Learn a lesson here and never forget it.”

 

But she won’t say that. She doesn’t need to. Besides, it’s better to let it sink into Jackson in the most haunting way possible.

 

~

 

Nancy hated the hole in her group of friends. It was an inconvenient stain that can ruin the pristine image that she has worked hard to keep. She could already feel the immediate effects when pockets of people would whisper amongst themselves whenever she walks around campus with some of the basketball kids in tow. She was annoyed at the idea of people thinking they can get to her. And she was even more annoyed when Sana and her friends passed her by the hallway, and Sana had this unmistakeable smug smile painted on her lips.

 

Sana knows how to fight, but it’s a good thing that Nancy knows how to push Sana’s buttons.

 

Groups at lunch time were huddled into their socially assigned seats. This meant that Sana would be sitting with her team and Dahyun would be sitting with hers. Seeing Sana and sensing that she’ll be wandering her eyes about, Nancy pulled Yeonwoo on her lap, then she softly ran her thumb over the other girl’s cheek. Slightly parted lips drew closer, and if Sana’s looking, it will be a bitter reminder that the quarterback cannot take her trophy back. Even if she begged that night in the beginning of summer.

 

It wasn’t hard to miss. Two people were about to make out, and it was Nancy and Yeonwoo at that.

 

Nancy smiles, and takes in Yeonwoo’s lips

 

The cafeteria crowd gasps as Nancy expected. But what she didn’t expect is when she realized that the people were looking at Sana’s table.

 

Right before Nancy kissed her girlfriend, Dahyun was quick to sit on Sana’s lap. As the quarterback’s gaze began to turn to Nancy’s direction, Dahyun gently cups Sana’s face and turns it to her instead. Her hand gracefully trails down Sana’s cheek and picks it up by the chin to tilt it up. Her eyes dive down into Sana’s beautiful hazel eyes, feeling the tip of Sana’s sharp nose against hers.

 

You will not mess with Chaeyoung. You will not mess with Sana. And you most definitely will not mess with me.

 

Dahyun’s lips parted slightly as she leaned dangerously closer. Their warm breath mix in the small space between them, and even before Sana could grasp what was happening, her body tenses up when she felt the softest kiss her lips has ever tasted. Dahyun could feel Sana’s arms tighten around her waist and it only made her melt their lips in a deeper kiss.

 

Dahyun’s eyes fluttered close, quite relieved that her first kiss was given, not stolen. She didn’t even give Sana a chance to gasp for air. She tilts her head a bit to the side so she could catch Sana’s lips into a nibbling kiss. Dahyun made sure that her girlfriend’s attention stays right here in this moment. No Nancy. No Yeonwoo. Not anyone else but them.

 

Lee Jieun, a firm believer that unnecessary talking is a stupid way to spend energy, felt that she needed to do her least favorite thing. As the whole cafeteria had their jaws ajar, Jieun exclaimed, “Holy fuck?!”

 

Kim Dahyun — Council President of the Atteridge Student Council, Ace Student, and the Football Team Captain’s girlfriend — has officially declared war against the High School Jungle in the most poetic way she could muster.

 

Nancy knew how to push Sana’s buttons, but she forgot one very important thing — Sana has Dahyun, and Dahyun has a way to deal with super duper emergencies.

  
 

///

  
  
  
 

**A/N:**

 

It’s a me! It’s a Charlie!

Sorry for making you wait, my peoples! And I hope that you don’t mind this hefty chapter. It’s been months since the last update and it’s mainly because my personal life has been spilling into my writing time. Thank you for patiently waiting! I can’t express how much your support means to me. Please remember that I’m not ignoring the comments that you leave. It’s one of the things that I look forward to whenever I finish a chapter. Your insights, reactions, or just plain sharing of your favorite parts make my day and they motivate me to keep on doing what we are doing.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Don't forget to share it to your friends! 

PS: Someone pointed out that it’s dihydrogen oxide, and it is correct, and I am wrong, and in my last update, I forgot to update that. Hahaha!

PPS: Someone also took the side of Momo in the last update and that’s the kind of reaction that I was hoping for. I think they edited the comment now but I’d like you to know that what you felt is absolutely valid. Share more of youre insights as we go along!

 

**Author's Note:**

> My peoples! We are back! Or at least we kinda are. Here's another SaiDa story for everyone to enjoy! I've been working on this one ever since we ended The Deepest Shades of You a few months back and I really hope that you show this with the same love if not more.
> 
> The world of The Guide to the Infinite Year is set in the fictional state of Acadia in the US Atlantic Coast, specifically around the New England area. This means we'll be adapting much more westernized cultures instead of our usual Korean setting. A lot of characters and details will be revealed! As well as an interactive story where you can play music to accompany specific parts. 
> 
> Follow me @superfritobae in Twitter as I will be posting supporting images to give the story more feels! 
> 
> We are so excited to share this story with you guys so hang in there!
> 
> Remember, there's no such thing as too much SaiDa! 
> 
> Cheerio beerio~ 
> 
> csj
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Acknowledgements: 
> 
> @tokyobee23 aka our beta and the second half of the two-perople writing team! She'll be joining us as much as she can, helping us out as much as she can! Thank you so much for being with me once again! 
> 
> @lizuh98 ya know it! My online friend for two years! I am actually posting this story so that SHE WILL POST HERS! 
> 
> @my Twitter mutuals who have been very encouraging in every way! You, together with our readers, are the reason why we do what we do! 


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